Black Hearted
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: Chase is a joker by nature, but is that really all there is to the Black Ranger?
1. Chapter 1

**Legal:** I do not own Power Rangers, or the associated names, characters, events, places etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be assumed to purely the creation of the author.

 **Rating:** T – May be some adult themes, including language and violence.

It was morning at the museum, and Chase was there amazingly early for him. It was so early that Shelby hadn't yet arrived to wait outside for the others to come and open up. All the lights were still off, and everything was still locked up. Anyone would be forgiven for thinking that he had woken up early and just had an uncharacteristic charitable streak, that he was going there to set up so that everyone could get straight to work when they got in. It was only as he quietly unlocked the door, locking it behind him, and sneaking through the museum like a cat-burglar that would put anyone's mind at ease that his true intent was some form of mischief.

It wasn't easy to slide down the slide into the lab without making a sound, but he had learned that if he put his shirt over his hands and removed his shoes, and then pushed himself up off his backside, then he didn't make the distinctive squeaking sound as he went down. Landing at the end, he got an evil smirk on his face. The lights were off meaning that no one was here yet, at least, no one awake.

There, lying on the floor, where they had left him last night, was the Green Ranger, Riley! Ordinarily, he'd have gone home to his apartment like every other night, but the night before, something incredible had happened to him. He and Ivan had been taken away to compete in a tourney, one attended by some of the most powerful mystical warriors in all the realms. If that was all that had happened, Riley would have been on cloud nine for weeks, no doubt boring them with every minute detail of his time there. However, something more had happened. Somehow, he had actually won one of the events! He was now the champion of combat on foot for all the realms! Of course after the tourney came the feast, and Riley...well...he'd ended up more than a little worse for wear! In the end, for his own sake, Kendall had figured it was best just to let him sleep it off in the lab rather than risk trying to take him home.

Chase crept up towards him, seeing the Green Ranger sleeping, snoring, and occasionally twitching. In his arms, he was still clutching the golden statue he had been presented as a token of his victory, and a turquoise scarf. He had a smile on his face, and was muttering, no doubt dreaming about his time at the tournament. Chase got a wicked smile on his face as he pulled in close, and reached into the front pocket of his hoodie, pulling out an air-horn. He heard a low growl behind him. He paused in his tracks.

"Leave alone." Koda warned him. Chase just looked to him, the look on his face screaming 'busted'. He knew Koda lived in the museum, which meant that if his plan had succeeded, then he'd probably have woken him too, but the thought of forcefully startling a hung-over Riley with an ear and no doubt in his condition head-splitting air-horn was just too good to pass up.

"Oh, come on big guy, this is too..." Koda silenced him with a little growl. "It's self-inflicted! It's not like..."

Koda just snatched the air-horn from him. He was sympathetic to Riley, even though his condition was self-inflicted. It wasn't like he was in the habit of such things. He wasn't even in the habit of eating unhealthily, such was his obsession with training. To the best of anyone's knowledge, this was the first time he'd ever had alcohol. No doubt in his excitement over the tourney and the festivities he'd gotten a little carried away.

"You here early, you help set up." Koda told him. Chase just sighed as he got up, heading away.

"Spoilsport." He muttered as Koda frog-marched him back to the museum to leave Riley in peace. No doubt he would suffer more than enough when he woke up on his own.

Up on Sledge's prison ship, Wrench muttered uncontrollably as he attended to menial tasks, basic cleaning that any of the many viviks could do. He was reduced to such things ever since the disastrous failure of his attempt to wipe out the Rangers and Amber Beach in one fell swoop with a massive explosive. It was a good plan, a plan he was certain was fool-proof. Unfortunately he had not banked on one thing...Kendall Morgan!

He knew that the Rangers had a friend, the curator of the museum, that helped them with their technical support. He was aware that a lot of their technology was her creation. While their weapons were powerful, he had never imagined that she would ever defeat one of his own creations. After all, he was a brilliant engineer, one that had the knowledge of technology from many star systems under his command. What could a woman who had spent her life studying large lizards that died millions of years ago know that would be close to comparable to his technology?

Now though he knew he had greatly underestimated her. She had defused his bomb, something that should have been impossible for a mere human mind. That was when his own fatal error had caused his undoing...his arrogance! It was such a simple thing to put a remote detonator into the bomb, to allow him to activate it in the event that the timer was somehow stopped. The first rule of any device was to create a back-up, but he hadn't even considered the possibility that anyone could defuse it. He could still remember Sledge screaming at him to detonate the bomb, and having to explain why all they could do was watch helplessly as the Megazord soared straight towards them, launching his own bomb straight back at them!

Now...he was hiding on the ship, or at least what was left of it! They were fortunate that the ship wasn't destroyed, but in the aftermath it was devastatingly damaged. Six whole levels of cell blocks had ended up being blasted into space! He had always teased Fury about how much his schemes cost Sledge and how many of his monsters, how many bounties he'd lost. In one day though, his lack of foresight had cost him hundreds of his prisoners, and a significant portion of his ship! He didn't even want to think about how much it had cost him in Bullion! Instead he focused all his attention on staying away from Sledge, who was no doubt looking to destroying him, and imagining the revenge he would visit on that accursed Kendall Morgan!

"You missed a spot!" Fury chuckled as he mopped up, taking nothing but delight in Wrench's current predicament. While Fury was currently helping him keep out of Sledge's way, hidden in the ship until he cooled down enough to reason with, he also delighted in seeing Wrench humbled like this. Currently, he was scrubbing a rust-mark on some piping with wire-wool. Wrench just threw the wire-wool to the floor in frustration.

"This is so HUMILIATING!" He exclaimed as he crossed his arms defiantly and leant against a wall. "I didn't build myself from the finest technology in four galaxies to do the work of a cleaning droid!"

"No, you just built yourself to do more damage to Sledge in one day than the Rangers have managed to do in almost a year." Fury chuckled. Wrench just glared at him.

"You promised you'd help me get back at the Rangers!" Wrench stated angrily. "We've been at this for..."

"Shut up." Fury stated, holding up a hand and looking around.

"DON'T YOU TELL ME TO...!"

"I said SHUT UP!" Fury responded, clamping a hand against his mouth and ramming him against the wall. He held Wrench there as he tried to struggle, but eventually Wrench stopped struggling. He noticed Wrench wasn't even looking at him.

"Come, this way." Fury told him. Fury told him. Wrench started to creep along the corridor. Wrench looked around, before following him as quietly as he could.

He saw Fury crouching down by a corner, and signalling him to stop. Wrench came close to him.

"What is it?" Wrench asked. Fury pointed down the hall. A couple of Spikeballs were heading through the cell block, towards a block designed to hold creatures with powerful energy attacks. "How did you..?"

"I'd trust my nose over any of your scanners any day." Fury told him.

"So, if the guards are here, why are we?" Wrench asked him. "Let's go?"

"I wanted to see why they were here, and now I think this may be our chance. How often do the guards carry keys?" Fury asked him with a smile. It was then that Wrench saw that Fury was right; one of them was carrying a large collection of keys! Ordinarily, the guards would only bring keys into the cell blocks if they intended to release a prisoner for some reason. Bringing them in otherwise only courted the possibility one of the creatures would somehow get their hands on them! Only Poisandra ever brought the keys in at any other time, one of her favourite games was to taunt the prisoners with the possibility of escape but she was powerful enough to take care of herself.

"They're releasing one of the prisoners?" Wrench asked him. "Sledge must have another plan! He must be on his way down here! We need to...!"

"Calm down before your wiring overheats, if Sledge was anywhere near here I'd have smelled him ages ago." Fury assured him. "It's probably scheduled maintenance...of course since you don't have access to your schedule anymore, I suppose you forgot."

Wrench hated that Fury delighted in rubbing his face in his position so much, but he was powerless against him. Fury would quite literally take him apart if he let his frustrations erupt into violence. Fury indicated to him to keep quiet, and then pointed down the hall as the Spikeballs found the cell they were looking for.

Opening the cell, they dragged one of the prisoners out of his cell. They bundled him roughly into the hall.

"Gold Digger, you're going to Solitary!" One of them growled.

"Solitary, but I didn't do anything!" He protested.

"We need to re-house you for essential maintenance on the energy dampener!" The other told him. "With Wrench missing, lord knows how long it'll take? We need somewhere to keep you safely until then!"

Gold Digger reached under the chest that was lodged in his...well...his chest! Damn he was a bizarre looking creature, Wrench thought. He watched as he got something in his hand.

"But I'll behave if you let me wait here, just please, anything but Solitary!" He begged. The Spikeballs though didn't seem interested in his pleading. He pulled away from them, facing them. "Alright then, if you won't listen to my begging, how would you feel about a little wager?"

They watched as he held up a coin. Fury looked to Wrench and smirked. They both remembered when Sledge picked him up. Gold Digger had been involved with a terrorist movement in his home planet that sought to de-stablise the planet's economy. His particular party trick was to charge simple coins with explosive energy! A few of his coins slipped into people's bank accounts, and the change spent in shops and restaurants caused untold carnage on his home world! The citizens were more than happy to pay Sledge's fee to be rid of him!

"Heads, you let me wait here while you do the repairs. Tails, I walk to Solitary without so much as a word." Gold Digger proposed. The two Spike Balls looked to each other, before looking back to him.

"Either way, we keep the coin!" One of them said greedily. Gold Digger just smiled.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" He replied, flicking the coin into the air. One of the Spikeballs caught it, and opened his hand, looking at it.

"HA! TAILS!" He roared. "We win!"

"Actually...I'd say you just lost." Gold Digger said, taking a couple of steps back. The coin started to glow, before exploding devastatingly, completely destroying both of the Spikeballs. "All of your limbs...and pretty much everything else as well! Thanks for the parole suckers!"

He started to run down the corridor, looking for a way out. He doubted an explosion anywhere on the ship would go unnoticed. He had only a small window of opportunity to get off the ship! He looked around frantically for an escape pod. As he got to the corner though, Fury grabbed him, throwing him against the opposite wall and pinning him there. He held a blade to his throat.

"F...F...Fury!" He stammered in panic, seeing Sledge's old partner before him. He had been there, helping when Sledge took him down. He was more than aware of what he was capable of. "I...I'm sorry..."

"Come with me!" Fury growled, interrupting him.

"P...p...please, not solitary!" He begged him. "I promise I won't misbehave again...!"

"Do I LOOK like I give a rat's ass about what you did to a couple of Spikeballs?" He asked him. "If you want off this ship, come with us."

"What?" He asked, completely confused. Fury was Sledge's partner...at least, as far as he knew he was. Being locked up, he couldn't claim to be privy to everything that happened on the ship out with his own corridor. "You're helping me escape?"

"We will, for a price." Fury told him as he and Wrench started to walk away. "Unless you'd rather stay here and plead your case with Sledge of course."

It didn't take long to make a decision; it was a no-brainer. Gold Digger ran after them to catch up, taking his chances with Fury.

Back at the Dino Bite cafe, Tyler, Chase, Koda and Ivan were all waiting for the last members of their team to join them before heading out to train. Kendall had hired some more staff, a necessary move to free them up for their responsibilities. Given the way Sledge had been upping his game lately, it was no longer practical to have them as the only staff. It still wasn't ideal, they were leaving less staff than Kendall would like to run the place, but hiring was a long process.

Tyler was turning over the air horn in his hands, staring at it. While they were waiting, Koda had told them the story of what happened in the lab that morning.

"So that's why you left so early?" Tyler asked. "Not cool man."

"Come on! Will everyone lighten up?" He asked, a huge grin on his face, failing to understand why it was a big deal. "It was meant as a joke!"

"I must agree with Tyler." Ivan said, his arms crossed as he glared at Chase. He was somewhat responsible for Riley's current condition, having dragged him to the tourney in the first place. However, even though Riley had been declared a knight, in the same way as he had once been Ivan's squire and had a responsibility to him, Ivan did feel a level of responsibility for Riley's wellbeing...even if strictly speaking his condition was self-inflicted. "Mocking the afflicted is not noble behaviour!"

"Afflicted? He has a hangover! He'll live! By this afternoon he'll be running laps in the track like always!" Chase told them. "Besides, it's not like you don't mind making jokes when I do something stupid."

"It's kind of hard not to when you do stupid things so often." Tyler replied as Kendall arrived, with a slightly pale-looking Riley.

"How are you feeling Sir Riley?" Tyler asked him. Riley just muttered something under his breath.

"He'll be fine." Kendall sighed, looking to him. "He's got a clean enough bill of health to train, the benefits of being young I suppose."

She looked around; noticing one of them was missing.

"Where's Shelby?" She asked. It wasn't like the Pink Ranger to be late. Only Koda, the one that literally LIVED in the museum was there any earlier! Kendall would always arrive each morning to find her waiting outside, nine-times-out-of-ten with a blow-by-blow account of the latest papers she had found online from the field. Kendall admired her enthusiasm, but was exhausted by it at the same time. She didn't have the heart to remind her that she read the exact same journals!

"Sorry I'm late Ms Morgan!" She called out as she came running into the cafe, struggling with her training bag and a stereo. She stumbled into the place, trying to straighten herself out. "I totally lost track of time."

"Lost track of time doing what?" Kendall asked.

"I was online." Shelby told her. "It won't happen again, I swear!"

"Were you trying to get those tickets?" Tyler asked her. Kendall looked to Tyler.

"Tickets?" She asked, before switching her gaze back to Shelby.

"I was online, looking for tickets for..." Her words tailed off for a moment. Kendall snapped her fingers.

"Was it the lecture from Dr Oliver about the migration of the Brachiosaur?" She asked her. "Shelby, why didn't you say something, I can get you tickets for that no problem! He owes me a favour!"

"That's great!" Shelby replied with a smile, thankful not only for the tickets, which she genuinely wanted to get anyway, but also the get-out. She doubted after all the concessions Kendall had made recently for her, helping her towards her goal of ending up in palaeontology, that she would be too impressed to find out she was late because she was looking for information on where to get tickets to a concert! "Thanks Ms Morgan, and I meant it. It won't happen again!"

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time I lost track of time studying." Kendall told her with a little smile. She then looked to the others. "Alright, I hope you're all ready for training. I have a special surprise today."

"Surprise?" Tyler asked her.

"I've been working on a new weapon." She informed them.

"New toys! I am always up for that!" Chase said with a look of glee on his face.

"I'm glad you feel that way." Kendall told him. "Because you're the test pilot!"

"YES!" Chase yelled excitedly, throwing his hands up in the air as they all got up, heading for the vehicles to head out somewhere they wouldn't be disturbed.


	2. Test Pilot Chase

Somewhere in the forest surrounding Amber Beach, a couple of miles from the museum, the Rangers had set up for training, and had already begun. They had already been out there long enough to get warmed up, and had split off to focus on different aspects of their training. Tyler and Koda were working on conditioning. Tyler, they generally always spent most of his time doing crazy gymnastics of some description as part of his workout regime. He had told them that he'd been shown some tricks by some circus performers once, and had also taken to parkour, finding that it led to him having a good, overall strength, conditioning and exceptional balance, all things that had been incredibly handy and saved his life numerous times while he was searching all those caves his father had explored, looking for clues about his disappearance. Koda was always acrobatic, but as of late, for some reason he'd started to do a lot more of it. They knew that his new hobby of wrestling involved a lot of gymnastics, so mostly they just assumed it was something to do with that.

Riley and Ivan, rather predictably, had gotten to work on their sword work. Ivan had lived in a time long before the first gun was seen in battle, and much preferred the sword anyway. Riley, it was more down to his daydreaming of sword play growing up. Unusually for a kid who grew up in a farming community, he'd never really had a taste for guns. He trained with his blaster, knowing it was his weakest area, but in battle he generally always defaulted to his sword anyway, rarely relying on it. It was a testament to the resilience of youth that he was actually up and keeping pace with Ivan given his condition earlier that morning.

Shelby was working on some heavy bags to the music from her stereo. She was focusing mostly on working multiple opponents at the same time. The one thing that they had all noticed about pretty much every battle was that they were rarely ever one-on-one. Sledge seemed to be a big believer in strength in numbers.

Kendall, however, was on her cell phone while Chase got ready for his "special training". She had been developing a new weapon for the team, and he was the one that was chosen to be the test pilot for it.

"Matt, how many times can I say I'm sorry?" She asked as she had a pained expression on her face. She knew all about keeping secrets, she'd kept one of the biggest secrets in the world for close to a year already. She knew that since Riley was alright, albeit feeling a little delicate following the feast the previous night. It was likely his mom and Matt would never find out. Indeed, she was confident that if Mrs Griffin, who still believed that Riley was there on a mere scholarship programme had gotten drunk while under Kendall's care he'd be back in Millport before the day was out. However, she didn't feel right about keeping it from Matt. "I'm telling you, he's fine! He's fencing with Ivan right now!"

She just sighed as she listened to his reply.

"Believe me, I sincerely doubt he's planning anything like that again in a hurry." She told him with authority. "You know I'd never have let him go if I knew..."

Matt was saying something else, something that obviously caught Kendall. She felt guilty about the whole thing, not just because Matt trusted her to look after Riley, but also because she was the one that assured him it would be fine when Chip and Daggeron invited them to a duel. She had no idea the real nature of the tourney, if she had, she'd never have allowed him to go.

"I promise, nothing like that will ever happen again." Kendall told him. "Thanks for not telling your mom. I love you."

She hung up shortly after that. Shelby came over to her.

"You OK?" She asked.

"Well, I still have a boyfriend...for the time being at least." Kendall responded dejectedly. "I couldn't keep it from him, you understand right?"

"There's such a thing as too much honesty in a relationship." Shelby told her. "Something tells me Riley wasn't going to tell them about this and...that's about the only way they'd ever have known."

"I almost blew it with him for nothing didn't I?" Kendall asked. Shelby just smiled.

"I don't think you need to worry Ms Morgan." Shelby assured her. "We all saw you together, it's clear he's crazy about you."

As Shelby went back to her workout, Kendall put her phone away. She still felt guilty about what happened, and telling Matt had made THAT feel a little better. She still wasn't sure she hadn't risked her relationship with the older Griffin brother in the process, regardless of Shelby's assurance.

"Hey, Ms Morgan, I'm ready when you are!" Chase called out, having finished warming up. Kendall started to make his way over to him. He was morphed, and had his Dino Blaster at the ready. As she arrived, he wasn't looking at her, he was looking a little way down at something that was completely out of place here...a cinderblock wall! Kendall had already had it built out here when she was nearing the completion of her new weapon.

"So, what exactly do you want me to do?" He asked her. "I'm guessing it has something to do with that."

"Correct, I want you to fly through it." Kendall told him. Chase just started laughing.

"I'm sorry, I thought I heard you say you wanted me to fly through it." He responded, looking at her. While Kendall wasn't made of stone, and had been known to make jokes, she wasn't exactly big on them. The look on her face was deadly serious. Jake could see she wasn't joking. "Wait, I thought you said you wanted me to be a test-pilot, not a crash test dummy!"

"Let me introduce you to the Dino Armour X Jaws are designed to penetrate thick armour, and defensive obstacles." Kendall told him, completely ignoring his remark. She would never agree to let the Rangers test one of her weapons unless she was confident it would work.

"Jaws...like teeth?" Chase asked her. "So, not only do you want me to try and fly through a wall...you want me to do it HEAD FIRST?"

"Well, it's not like there's too much up there to damage." Tyler chuckled as he, Koda, Riley and Ivan stopped their workout, coming to watch.

"What if this doesn't work?" Chase asked her. "Then I'm just flying head first into a concrete wall!"

"There's a first aid kit in the jeep." Tyler joked, getting a chuckle from the others. Kendall broke this up with her signature death-glare that always managed to silence them.

"You're really not helping guys!" She said, before returning her attention to Chase. "Look, it IS a prototype, I've only developed it for one Energem so far. It works with Black Energem power."

"So, you only developed it for one Energem, and you chose me as the one you want to see get his skull smashed in like an egg if it doesn't work?" Chase asked. "I thought we were past the stage you didn't like me."

"Chase...I wouldn't let you...let ANY of you try out any of my weapons unless I believed wholeheartedly that it works." Kendall assured him, handing the Dino Charger to him. "If I had an Energem, I'd have built it for mine and tested it on myself, the same goes for any of my tech. I'd never ask you to do anything unless I felt confident enough that I'd do it myself if I could."

"Alright then, I'll give it a shot." Chase said, still somewhat reluctantly as he prepared it. "Dino Armour, X Charger, READY!"

He placed it into his Dino Morpher, activating it. He was bathed in a glow for a moment, before he found himself wearing armour a lot like his Dino Steel Armour, but it was orange in colour, and formed down both arms instead of only one. He saw jaw-like weapons attatched to the backs of each of his hands. He was thankful for this at least, when he heard the term "jaws", he was almost worried they'd be on his helmet and he'd literally have to hit the wall head first! He supposed at least if anything went wrong, he'd have his arms to brace him to some degree. He couldn't deny feeling the power coursing through him. It wasn't as powerful as Dino Drive Mode, but that was only safe to even activate in the Megazords. Still, it was as far above Dino Steel as Dino Steel was above his Ranger suit alone!

"I feel...incredible power! You guys should try this!" He stated.

"We'll wait to see if we're scraping you off yonder wall first." Ivan teased him. Kendall gave them all another death-glare for that crack. Chase on the other hand felt emboldened by the power running through him. He stared straight at the marker placed on the wall and braced himself. Breaking into a run, he launched himself at it.

"Spiral ATTACK!" He called out, corkscrewing through the air impossibly fast, energy glowing around him as he did. He felt a slight jolt, and only the sound of shattering concrete let him know it was the wall, which he punched through with ease! Unfortunately, he had very little awareness of anything else around him...or anyone!

"Hey!" Shelby called out as he flew past, narrowly missing her. On his return journey, he shredded one of her heavy bags, before coming to a stop by the wall, which now had a large hole in it. The four other male Dino Charge Rangers were staring in awe as Chase admired his handiwork.

"WOW! SWEET!" He exclaimed excitedly. "It works great Kendall!"

As he looked down the range, he could see the look she was giving him. It wasn't the death-glare, but it wasn't far from it. He realised his mistake, in his excitement he'd overstepped the boundary.

"I mean, Ms Morgan!" He corrected himself.

"Uh...hello?" He heard someone beside him say. He turned around to see Shelby standing by her shredded heavy bag.

"Sorry Shelby." Chase said in a kind of off-hand way. He wasn't really overly concerned, it was only a heavy bag, and he was still too excited about the power of his new weapon. Shelby could sense the insincerity of his apology and did not take to it kindly at all.

"I was standing RIGHT HERE!" She told him. "It could have been ME you hit!"

"Shelby, you're fine, it's just a bag..."

"You owe me a new bag." Shelby responded matter-of-factly. However, she could see that Chase had already stopped listening. He was distracted by something else. He walked past her, approaching her stereo.

"CHASE!"

"Hey, that's the N-Zed Boys!" He commented.

"The N-Zed Boys?" Riley asked. "Who are they?"

"They're some lame-arse boy band from New Zealand." He informed them. "They were big on the local tweener crowd back home when I left. They're trying to break into the US market now with their..."

He then noticed something else. Attached to the stereo was Shelby's phone, and the N-Zed Boys' logo was on it...along with the play icon. He looked to Shelby.

"Oh, you are not one of those crazy fans are you?" He asked her, a wicked grin crossing his face. "The ones with the N-Zed Boys t-shirt? Who learn all their lame lyrics and dance moves off by heart?"

"I'm not THAT crazy." She muttered under her breath, beginning to turn a little pink. He then got a thought.

"You weren't planning on going to their concert tonight were you?" He asked her. "THAT'S why you were late this morning! You were trying to get tickets weren't you?"

"It's the first time they've ever toured outside New Zealand!" She protested. Chase just started laughing, before launching into a highly exaggerated dance routine and spouting the lyrics in a mocking way. Shelby, having had enough just shut off the music and snatched up her stereo and her bag, storming away. Chase just shrugged his shoulders, before getting to work helping the others clear up the training area.

Over in the small town of Millport, a long way from Amber Beach, Margaret, the Personal Aide of Prince Phillipe III of Zandar came into the barn on the farm they were renting, finding him in there training hard. Ever since he had seen the Rangers in action, he had become obsessed with becoming a Ranger. Since seeing not only their bravery and power, but also the return of one of the greatest heroes of his homeland, Sir Ivan, he had become convinced that if he could become a Ranger, then when the day came he inherited the Principality of Zandar, he would become a worthy ruler!

He had gone to great lengths in his preparations. Instead of returning to Zandar, he had instead remained in the US, getting as far off the grid as he could to ensure he had no trappings or luxury to distract from his quest. He worked day and night to improve himself, all while his excavations teams located a skeleton housing an Energem. It was being sent to the states, but it seemed that even the official seal of Zandar didn't speed up the process of getting remains through customs. Margaret found him climbing a rope to the top of the barn, using only his arms!

"Ah, Margaret! What news do you bring this fine day?" He asked, lowering himself down to the ground. She just handed him a letter.

"It's in America now at least." She informed him. "Now it just has to clear THEIR customs."

"Thanks to my father's isolationist policy it seems the name of the Prince of Zandar means little in expediating such processes." He sighed as he picked up a bottle of water. "I swear, if this was a delivery from the Prince of Wales, they'd never hold it up with all this red tape, and that man is a complete pillock."

"You only met him at that ceremony at Sandringham ONCE." Margaret reminded him.

"Believe me, once was more than enough." Phillipe replied. Margaret noticed the bruises across his torso and arms. It wasn't unusual to see him with bruises these days, these were a lot more recent...and there were a LOT of them.

"I see your new trainer is working you hard." She commented.

"I have to admit, Matt has surprised me." Phillipe responded. Not long after his arrival in Millport, he had a run-in with some local hooligans. He had defeated them, but wasn't satisfied they had learned their lesson and he was beating them far beyond what was necessary. By sheer chance, when he was looking for somewhere off the grid to prepare, he had ended up in Millport, the home of Matt Griffin, known in the area as 'Granite' Matt Griffin. He was a bare-knuckle boxing champion, and something of a local legend. He had handed Phillipe an embarrassing defeat and a much-needed lesson in humility. Since then, Phillipe had been training with Matt whenever his chores on the farm would allow. "For a man with no formal training, his instincts are formidable."

"He's beating the shit out of you is what you mean." Margaret replied.

"Yes, but each defeat is less decisive and I'm getting in more good shots each time." Phillipe assured her. "You know what they say, no pain no gain."

"Idiots say that." She muttered as Phillipe gathered up his t-shirt.

"Come, once I've had a shower, I'll cook you lunch." He told her. Margaret just raised her brow.

"Cook?" She asked. "Since when do you cook?"

"Matt taught me a recipe for rabbit that sounds delightful." He told her.

"And when exactly did you have time to go shopping for rabbit?" She asked him. He just smiled.

"The thing is, he showed me how to hunt those too." He assured her as he left. "I'll see you at the house."

With that, she just shook her head. She had grown up with Phillipe. Her mother was in his serving staff. They had played together as kids. She could see that things about Phillipe were changing, but she couldn't quite believe how much. While he had always trained and taken active part in the military, he had also grown up in the palace, and had very little he had to do himself. She could never have imagined him doing...well...anything as menial as cooking.

She shivered as a cold wind blew through the barn door, bringing her back to attention. She headed out of the barn, finding the air to be thick, and a slight, misty rain in the air. She covered up as much as she could and ran for the house.

Back in Amber Beach, Kendall, Tyler, Riley, Koda and Ivan arrived back at the museum. Chase had stopped off, saying he had some personal errands to run before his late shift. Tyler and Ivan were shivering as they got in, while Riley, Kendall and Shelby weren't so bothered.

"Man, the wind's getting up all of a sudden." Tyler commented. "It's pretty cold out there."

"Maybe if you'd brought jackets you wouldn't have been cold." Riley suggested as they headed back for the cafe. Shelby hung back for a moment with Kendall. She couldn't help feeling badly about the end of training.

"Ms Morgan?" She said a little hesitantly. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to be late."

"Well, I suppose I was the one who brought up the lecture and just presumed that was what you were looking up." Kendall told her.

"I really do want to go to that." Shelby told her. "It's just...I didn't want to admit that I was late because I was looking up tickets to see a boy band, and when you gave me an out I just...kind of took it. I'm sorry."

"Shelby, one of the things I admire is your dedication to your studies." Kendall told her. "But, I suppose I have a life outside of work too. Just...try not to make a habit of it alright?"

"I won't Ms. Morgan." Shelby assured her. "Thanks for understanding."

"When Chase gets back, you just go." Kendall told her. "Maybe you can get those tickets if you hurry."

"Thanks Ms Morgan!" Shelby responded. "You're the best!"


	3. The Storm

Fury, Wrench and Gold Digger were all squeezed uncomfortably into a single drop pod that was ideally only built for one. They reasoned that using only one pod they would be more likely to escape unnoticed than if they used a pod each.

"How can someone who's been on prison rations for 65 million years weigh so much?" Fury grumbled. "Move over God Digger?"

"Where to? Wrench already has his elbow in my eye!" He protested.

"Will you two be quiet? I need to concentrate!" Wrench complained as he struggled with the controls. Because of the cramped conditions, he was right up against the console, so he couldn't actually see his hands on the controls. It made navigation more than a little difficult. "We're on a re-entry angle. If we veer off course now, we'll break up!"

Fury and Gold Digger tried to remain as still as possible, to let Wrench focus on controlling their descent.

"We're almost through the atmosphere." He told them. "Once we're through..."

Just then, the ship lurched harshly. They were all thrown around in the tiny space.

"What was that?" Gold Digger asked.

"Winds, strong winds!" Fury rushed out. "There's something in the atmosphere, the pressures..."

"There are abnormally high winds from the east, AND the west!" Wrench confirmed, his face pressed right against the screen. "The ship's being blown off course! It's hard to control!"

"You can't control it?" Fury asked.

"Everyone hold on!" Wrench shrieked as the ship started spinning out of control. "It's not going to be a smooth landing!"

In Millport, Margaret stumbled into the house, out of the high winds. She slammed the door closed behind her, locking it to keep out the worst of the elements.

"It certainly is getting wild out there isn't it?" Phillipe asked her. Margaret just nodded.

"I'll say, I was moving side-ways the whole time I was walking here." She told him. "I'm soaked through just coming from the barn!"

"Well, the stew should take a while; you should have time to get cleaned up and changed." He told her. "I'll just turn up the heating and bring some fresh towels."

"Isn't...isn't that kind of thing more my job?" She asked him. Phillipe just laughed a little.

"I suppose normally it would be." He agreed. "I suppose being out here has changed more than just my training regime."

"It has." Margaret agreed with a little smile. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

As she went up to get a shower, Phillipe went to the cupboard which housed the heating unit. He turned on the light, and was about to approach the controls when he noticed something odd hanging up. It looked a little like a set of football armour, but with a set of metal gloves attached to it with some callipers. There was what looked like a VR helmet hanging next to it.

"Uh...Margaret?" He called upstairs. "What's this in the cupboard?"

"Oh, well...you know that training device in the barn?" She called back. "While it can run on its own, it can also be controlled by another person. That's the control unit."

"A control unit for the G-Bot?" He asked, inspecting it. Margaret had told him it was the height of training technology, fresh out of the labs in Zandar. It was programmed as a sparring partner for him, before he had switched to training with Matt.

"It was thought that if the programming wasn't up to scratch a human pilot could control it." She told him.

"Interesting." Phillipe responded as he adjusted the heating. He could hear that the shower had started. "I'll just get you those towels."

In the Dino Bite cafe, Riley, Ivan, Koda, Tyler and Shelby were working hard with the new staff. While the new staff members could handle most things, the fact was that they WERE still new, and needed some time to be shown the ropes. Dealing with the morning coffee customers was one thing, but a full-on lunch rush was another matter.

Shelby was standing by the register, her phone playing the local radio station, staring at the door. She couldn't stop fidgeting, and kept checking the time. It was obvious she was anxious to get out of there as soon as Chase got back. Unfortunately, Chase being Chase, he was predictably late. Although this time, he was late even by his standards!

"Where the hell is Chase?" Shelby complained as Tyler came to the counter with some orders. "He's over an hour late for the lunch rush!"

"He was going to see Allison." Tyler reminded his girlfriend with a smile. "I'm sure you can probably guess how they could lose track of time."

"Well, I hope he thinks it's worth it." Shelby grumbled. "If I don't get to that ticket line because he's busy..."

"And that was the N-Zed Boys and their latest single, 'I travel the world'." The radio announcer declared. "I have bad news for those looking to go to their concert tonight though, due to adverse weather, they will be unable to attend tonight. Anyone who has tickets can redeem them for a make-up show tomorrow night..."

"You hear that?" Tyler asked as he took her hand. "There's no rush now."

"I...guess not." Shelby sighed. "If the concert's off, no doubt the ticket office is closed."

Just then, Chase and Allison stumbled in the door, and a huge wind whistled in behind them, bringing in some trash and debris with it. Chase had to struggle to close the door behind him.

"Guys, you will not BELIEVE how wild it's getting out there!" Chase told them, gesturing to the door. "We couldn't even think of boarding, we had to walk..."

"Allison? Aren't you working today?" Riley asked her. She just sighed.

"Well, I WAS, but then I got into a little 'disagreement' with my manager and I walked out." She grumbled. Riley just looked at her unconvinced. "OK, so maybe I was a little distracted by the fact Chase was there and maybe sort of...let half the restaurant leave without paying."

"Yeah, I was kind of hoping we might talk to Ms Morgan about getting her a job here." Chase continued. "We are looking for people."

"Yeah, you might want to leave out how you became available when you ask." Tyler suggested.

"I'll take you to her office." Chase replied, guiding her through.

"Chase, you're supposed to be relieving me!" Shelby rushed out. "CHASE!"

"Shelby, like you said, the ticket office is probably closed." Tyler reminded her. She just sighed.

"It better be." She muttered.

Back in Millport, on the Griffin Farm, Matt was busy bringing the last of the cattle into the barn. The high winds were bad enough, but he had a feeling that worse was to come. The family dog, Rubik, had already gone into hiding in the basement, and all the family animals were going completely wild, even in the barn. Fortunately, since they had leased the extra land to Anton, the workers he had there were able to help secure everything down.

He managed to get the last of the animals inside, and secured the door, and looked around for his mother, finding her securing a tarpaulin over the firewood out the back of the house.

"Mom! The barn's locked down!" He yelled as he ran towards the house. Looking up into the air, he could see that things were starting to get worse. He could see debris being whipped through the air. It looked like the animals had caught on to the fact that things were about to get very wild indeed. That was when he saw an ominous, orange glow in the distance.

"Matt! You need to get inside!" Mrs Griffin told him. Matt just looked to her, pointing to the distance. She could see the glow as well, and could tell what he was thinking.

"That's coming from town!" He told her.

"Matt Griffin, you get back here!" Mrs Griffin called after him as he ran off into the distance. "MATT!"

Back at the Dino Bite Cafe, Shelby was sitting, stewing over the fact that because Chase still hadn't started, she was still stuck there, unable to go and see if she could get tickets. Since the concert itself had been postponed, she knew the odds were that the ticket office was closed, but she would have at least liked the chance to see. Tyler came over to her, stroking her shoulders.

"I'm sure he won't be much longer." Tyler assured her. "We need people, and Ms Morgan knows Allison is a waitress. I can't imagine the interview will be too long."

The lights in the restaurant flickered. Indeed, the lights in the whole museum flickered. There were a few shrieks and murmurs as customers started to look around.

"It's alright folks, it's just a little power surge." Kendall assured them as she returned with Chase and Allison. "I'm sure it's just because of the weather. There's nothing to worry about."

"Ms Morgan?" Tyler said, turning up the volume on Shelby's phone.

"The latest again, a serious weather warning has been issued for the Amber Beach area." The radio announcer declared. "All roads have been closed, and authorities are advising all citizens to remain indoors until further notice for their own safety. This is all due to the outer edges of a hurricane forming close to the nearby town of Millport."

"Millport?" Kendall and Riley chorused together.

"While early reports are unconfirmed, meteorologists estimate it could reach up to a strength of F2." The announcement continued. "Once again, for your own safety, please remain indoors until further notice."

"Alright, you heard the announcement." Kendall announced to the customers. "If you absolutely insist on leaving, please let us know and do so now, but we're going to be locking the doors, and for your own safety, I would have to recommend that you please stay at the museum. Rest assured my staff will do everything they can to make you as comfortable as possible. Please, whatever you do, be safe."

She went turned to her staff.

"Keep everything running as long as there's power. Food, hot drinks, cold drinks, whatever, it's all on the house." She told them. "People are going to be scared, so let's try and keep them distracted. Ivan, Koda, find as many flashlights as you can. If we DO lose power, I want us to have lights."

With that, she turned from them, heading away. She pulled out her cell phone, and began dialling.

"Come on Matt." She muttered. "Please answer."

At the farmhouse, Margaret and Phillipe were sitting, eating their meal quietly. Phillipe just looked to his bodyguard, watching her intently.

"Well?" He asked her.

"It's excellent." She agreed. Phillipe seemed to be pleased to hear this. The stew was indeed amazing, surprisingly so since Margaret could rarely remember him ever cooking. It wasn't like he ever had to cook for himself. The few rare occasions he wasn't travelling with a full entourage, such duties would usually fall to her. She had noticed a change in the Prince. He was always proud to consider himself independent of his father's influence. He was as independent as someone with a full, loyal staff could be. He had always been vocal in his disappointment in his homeland's isolatory stance with regards to the world, and he was determined that when his rein began, he would expand its place in the world's view. However, he was so determined with that, he was a little...lacking in some of his other areas of knowledge. It wasn't as if he needed to cook for himself, his father would have a heart attack or scream for hours at the servants if he so much as lifted a mop, and if he even tried to perform any form of manual labour well, Margaret was confident he'd be a danger to himself and everyone around him with a hammer. Since coming here though, seeing and being around these people, people who had to work their whole lives, there was a lot about him that was changing. "You have my compliments."

"Mrs Griffin has mine." Phillipe responded with a respectful nod. "Her recipe is excellent, and surprisingly easy to follow."

"There are other recipes that are simple to follow too." Margaret told him. He just smiled.

"There are?" He asked. "Then I suppose I shall have to learn some. As amazing as this is, I doubt I could eat rabbit stew every night."

"For that, I'm sure the rabbit population will be grateful." She answered with a chuckle. Just then, the lights flickered and went out.

"The power lines have probably come down." Margaret grumbled. "We should probably have expected this with the weather. I'll fetch some candles..."

She could see that Phillipe wasn't listening though. He was staring out of the opposite window. She followed his gaze, seeing a deep, orange glow coming from the direction of the town. She saw him going to grab a jacket.

"Phillipe, what are you doing?" She asked him.

"The town is in danger!" He responded.

"So you're planning on going out in THAT?" She asked him. Phillipe looked to her.

"If there is a fire, and it hasn't already been extinguished by winds of these speeds, then it already has a strong hold!" Phillipe pointed out. "If the winds have not extinguished the flames they may fan them! Between the storm and the fire there are people out there that will need help!"

"Phillipe..."

"What is the point of all this training? What is the point of ANY of this if I do not act when people are in need?" Phillipe asked her. "We always knew this time would come."

"Then help them! But perhaps you do not need to put yourself at risk to do so!" She suggested. Phillipe just looked confused.

"I do not understand." He stated. Margaret went to the cupboard with the heating unit and opened the door. Phillipe smiled as he understood her intent.

"The finest in training technology." He stated with a smile, pulling off his jacket. "Show me how it works!"

Elsewhere, in the main town of Millport, Matt arrived to find the streets in turmoil. There was a huge fire sweeping up one side of the street. Those that had gotten out were heading for nearby shelter, but the fact that a few were braving the elements, and working frantically with some hoses and even buckets in a futile display seemed to confirm his fear that some people must not have gotten out! He ran down into the town, approaching one of the guys directing the efforts to get the blaze under control.

"Mr Harris, what happened here?" He asked.

"The gas tanks at the back, some of them must have ruptured!" He informed Matt. He looked to the area that was ablaze. The General store, the tavern, the post office...most of them were made primarily of wood, having been built long before concrete was the preferred material of choice. Between the gas leaks and the timber, the whole place was going up quickly. "There are still people in there, but these winds...we can't get it under control!"

Matt heard some screams, and confirmed that there were people inside, most likely some unfortunate patrons of the tavern. The wind whipped up, making it difficult to move or see. In these conditions, the roads were most likely closed, and even if they weren't it was likely going to take far too long for the fire department to get a crew out here, time the people inside didn't have.

Matt ran and jumped into a horse trough, completely drenching himself to the bone. Pulling himself out, he ran back to Mr Harris.

"Concentrate your efforts on the door!" Matt told him.

"Matt, you're not thinking..." Before he could finish though, Matt was already running for the door. He kicked it clean off its hinges while barely even breaking pace. "Jesus Christ! Everyone concentrate on the door!"

"But..."

"The building's coming down anyway! There's no way we can save it!" Mr Harris interrupted his fellow citizen. "If that door comes down he's done for!"

Matt ran into the building, and held his arm up over his face. Thick, choking smoke filled the room. He looked around frantically for the source of the first scream. Despite the heat ripples and the smoke making it difficult to see, his eyes stinging like mad, he couldn't see anyone in the main bar. It looked like most of the patrons had gotten out. He heard someone banging on the bathroom door. Debris had fallen down around it, trapping it.

"I'm getting you out!" Matt called out, beginning to pull away huge lumps of lumber. He ripped the door open, at which a young woman tumbled out. He recognised her as the barmaid. She must have been in there when the winds hit.

"Is there anyone upstairs?" He asked her. "Jess, is there anyone upstairs?"

"Stevie and my dad." She informed him, spluttering. "He was babysitting while I was at work..."

"I'll get them." Matt told her.

"But my son!"

"I said I'll get them!" Matt told her as some debris fell, almost hitting him. "You're hurt, and this place is coming down soon, you need to get out!"

"Please, save them!" She begged him. Matt helped her towards the door, and once he was satisfied she was getting out to help, he ran towards the bar, vaulting over it, before kicking open the door to the upper floor.

He ran up the stairs, three at a time, stumbling a little as one of them gave way. The fire was already weakening the structure. Time was running out.

Outside, Mr Harris grabbed Jess as she stumbled out of the building.

"They're still inside!" She shrieked. "My dad and my baby! They're both still inside!"

"We need to get you to shelter!" Mr Harris told her.

"But my baby...!"

They heard a horrendous crash, and the door frame finally gave way, collapsing in. Mr Harris just stared in horror.

"Oh God no!" He gasped as he saw this. They could see more and more of the building starting to come down. "Son of a..."

"Out of the way!" They heard a mechanical voice saying. Everyone turned, and was frozen to the spot by what they saw. They were completely aghast to see a white and black robot heading their way at great speed. It skidded to a halt before them. It looked to the building. "Is anyone inside?"

"Mr Taylor, the tavern owner and his son Stevie are upstairs." Mr Harris finally managed to say. "Matt Griffin went in to bring them out."

"Everyone stand back!" The robot said, before walking towards the building. They could only watch in total amazement as it punched and kicked its way through the remains of the doorway, heading inside.

Upstairs, Matt was running through the rooms, checking each of them for signs of Mr Taylor and the baby. As he got closer and closer to the end of the corridor, he could hear the baby crying. He burst into the room, finding the crib in the corner, and Mr Taylor trapped under a section of the roof that had fallen in.

"Mr Taylor!" He called out, running to the old man. He could see him struggling, his legs pinned down. He braced himself under a beam, and started to try and pry the wreckage off him.

"Matt, leave me!" He coughed.

"Mr Taylor, I'm not leaving..."

"Save the baby!" He begged him. "Please, save my grandson!"

Matt didn't want to admit it, but he knew he almost certainly didn't have time to save them both. He couldn't carry Mr Taylor AND Stevie. He regretfully nodded in understanding, knowing that he was condemning the old man to death if he left him. He went to the crib and carefully lifted the crying baby out. He heard a cracking sound and looked up, just in time to see a section of the roof coming down straight towards him. He turned his back upward, bracing for impact...but it never came. He looked to his side, and saw the robot, holding up the roof.

"Take the baby and go." It told him in its mechanical voice.

"Mr Taylor..."

"Leave that to me." The robot interrupted him. "GO!"

Matt didn't need to be told a third time. Taking Stevie, he ran down the stairs, and out the door as quickly as he could. Getting outside, Jenn was already frantic, running over to take the baby from him.

"Stevie, oh my God Matt, thank you!" She rushed out. "My grandfather?"

Almost in answer to that, there was an almighty crash. Glass and wood flew out as the white robot came through the window, carrying the old man with it. It landed on the ground a little way from them moments before the rest of the building came crashing down. It laid him down gently.

"This man needs medical attention!" The robot declared. It looked to Matt. "Get everyone to shelter. The storm is getting worse."

As the robot turned and left, the people all cheered. Mr Harris just stared open-mouthed.

"What the hell was that?" He asked. Matt smiled.

"I have a feeling it was a gift from a friend." He replied. "Come on, you heard him, let's get these people to shelter. Those winds are only getting stronger."

Back in the farmhouse, Phillipe couldn't help smiling, wearing the control suit to the robot.

"Well, it may not be what it was designed for, but I can't help but say the G-Bot performed admirably." He told Margaret.

"So, how does it feel to be a hero?" She asked him. He smiled.

"It is the greatest feeling I have ever experienced." He replied


	4. Checking Up On Loved Ones

The winds were whistling loudly around, and anything that wasn't fixed to the ground was quickly ending up airborne. Trashcans were flying through the air, cartwheeling along the street like they were being tossed around in a playful game by unseen giants. In her motel room, Alessandra was wrapped in a blanket. Her heating never worked in good weather, so tonight was not exactly the night she expected that by some miracle it would be repaired. She had her cell phone, a simple Nokia 1100 clamped to the side of her head.

"Koda, you...you safe?" She asked him, propping herself up in a doorframe. She knew that was the strongest point of a building, and so that was where she was meant to go in a hurricane...or...was it an earthquake? She couldn't remember, but she was doing so anyway.

"I safe, I at museum." He told her. Alessandra smiled as she heard him say this. She had a few friends in the US, Carl, Jack...but she felt compelled to check that Koda was alright. "You?"

"Power out, no lights." Alessandra told him. "No TV, but nothing on anyway. Weekend TV suck."

"You have no power?" Koda asked her. "I come..."

"NO!" She shot out. "No go out, I have food...I be fine."

"But no power..."

"I be fine." She assured him. "I...hope you safe."

"I hope you safe too." Koda replied as she hung up. Chase saw the look on his face as he put his cell phone away.

"She's alright then?" He asked. Koda just nodded.

"I wish I there with her." Koda told him. "She tell me to stay here."

"Dude, going out there would be a risk not worth taking. If she's indoors, she'll be fine." Chase assured the Blue Ranger. Koda just nodded.

"One time, Taku and I get lost, separated from hunting party, get lost in bad storm." Koda told him. "Taku very scared, I scared too, but Taku hold me, I tell him everything be alright. I hold him. He feel safe because I there."

"It sounds really scary." Chase commented. "My sister Chloe used to always act tough, but any time there was lightning, she'd always ask to sleep in my bed."

"I want know Alessandra safe, want her here." Koda told him. "I want her where I see she safe, I want hold her so I know she safe."

"Awww, that's sweet." Allison replied, snuggling into Chase as he pulled her closer.

"You, my man, have it bad." Chase stated. "You've been bitten by the bug."

"Bitten? Bug?" Koda stated, beginning to inspect himself for signs of bite marks. Chase just put a hand on his shoulder.

"Not what I meant. I mean, you like Alessandra don't you?" He asked. Koda nodded.

"Like Alessandra." He stated. "Like Kendall, like Tyler..."

"Not what I meant." Chase told him. "You...know that the way Tyler likes Shelby is different from the way he likes me right?"

"Yes, Koda know of...what Kendall call it..birds and bees?" Koda told him. Chase just breathed a sigh.

"So you understand why you like her differently than the way you like me or Ivan or Tyler right?" Chase asked him. Koda just nodded.

"Like Alessandra a lot. I like way I feel around her." He stated. "I like look on her face when she smile. I like way I feel around her. It like...I sick, stomach not right...but in good way that I like. She smell very nice..."

"OK, I'd maybe not emphasise the last part, but I get it." Chase told him.

"Have you told her how you feel?" Allison asked him. Koda shook his head.

"Scared she laugh." He answered. "I help her train, she still hurt, once she back on shows..."

"Koda, that's no reason to not tell her..."

"I scared she laugh at me." Koda told them. "I like when she laugh, but if she laugh at me..."

"How about if I give you some pointers?" Chase asked him. Koda looked at him.

"Pointers?" He asked.

"You know...like...advice, tips." Chase answered. "Maybe she won't laugh."

"She very pretty girl." Koda answered. "Why she want someone like me?"

"Koda, there's a hurricane outside, but there's one thing we know for sure." Allison told him. "Alessandra called YOU."

Koda smiled a little hearing this. He hadn't thought about it much, but it was his phone that rang. He was planning to call her, but she had called him first.

"Trust me man, I have some great ideas." Chase assured him.

Fury, Wrench and Gold Digger climbed out of the escape pod, bracing themselves against nearby trees in the woods. They had been blown off course by a significant margin, and ended up crash landing in the woods outside town.

"There's a cave over there!" Wrench called out. "Come on!"

Fury and Gold Digger ran after him. They got into the cave, only to find a family of bears staring at them. The mother was growling, letting them know they were not welcome as she defended her cubs.

"Maybe there's another..."

"Not to worry." Fury stated, drawing his sword. "I just made dinner reservations."

Back at the museum, Kendall was trying once again to reach Matt on her cell phone. The signals were a little temperamental at the moment thanks to the weather, at least...the hoped that was all it was. Riley saw her frantically dialling again, not even using speed dial, almost like she was now doubting that function and wanted to make sure she was dialling the correct number.

"Ms Morgan, I'm worried too, but they'll be fine." Riley assured her. "It wouldn't be the first time we've been hit by a storm. There's a storm shelter in the basement of practically every farmhouse in Millport. They really built those things to last."

"I'm sure you're right." Kendall agreed. It was kind of a comforting thought; most of the homes in Millport had been family legacies, being handed down across generations. Some of the buildings had been standing for hundreds of years. If they were still standing, then it stood to reason that the storm shelters designed specifically to be secure were probably safe. "I'd just really feel happier if I could hear...wait...I'm getting through!"

She waited with baited breath as the phone rang. Eventually, she heard it connect.

"Matt?" She asked.

"Well, you should know, you've called this number three dozen times tonight already." He responded. He was now in a storm shelter in town with several of the town's residents. The local doctor was checking him out after his rescue mission in the burning building. He had already checked out the other victims, and wanted to make sure Matt's moment of heroism hadn't cost him.

"You have three dozen missed calls?" She asked him. "Where were you?"

"I was helping some of the people in town." Matt told her.

"You were actually OUT in that storm?" She yelled, clearly starting to freak out. She looked to Riley, who just shrugged. It wasn't as if he was too surprised, Millport was a small place with relatively few resources. When someone was in trouble, those who were fortunate and could spare pulled together to help out.

"There were some people that needed help! The storm caused a gas leak at the tavern." He informed her, spluttering a little. "A couple of people were trapped. They needed help."

"Trapped...wait...are you trying to tell me you ran into a burning building?" She asked, looking horrified. She couldn't help tensing up, and her heart was struggling with what she was hearing. It sounded just like Matt to run headlong to help anyone that needed it. It was one of the things that she loved about him. There was a part of her that could imagine seeing him charging into the tavern as it was burning to the ground, a part of her that was more than a little impressed, and found it more than a little attractive. Another part of her wanted to check out if he was alright, to rush right over despite the storm and just grab hold of him, make sure he hadn't gotten himself hurt in his moment of selflessness...yet another part of her was livid though, and wanted to strangle him for taking such a huge risk. "Matt!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" He assured her with a little smile. "I'm a little singed around the edges, and I'd really like to stop coughing sometime soon, but everything's..."

"MATT GRIFFIN!" She screamed at him. "You could have been killed!"

"Well, there was a little bit of a close call, but you don't need to worry." He said with a little smirk. "With your little guardian angel looking over my shoulder, I was just fine."

"Wait, guardian angel?" Kendall asked him. "Matt, what are you talking about?"

"Please, how many people do you think I know that regularly work in robotics?" He asked her. "Some guys might find it a little creepy, but I find it flattering you sent a robot to take care of me. Say, does that thing do construction? There'll be a lot of rebuilding work to go around..."

"Matt, I don't know anything about any robot." Kendall told him. "You're saying you were saved by a robot?"

"Well...yeah." He answered. "But if you didn't send it, then who did?"

"I really wish I knew." She said in response. "Whoever it is, I know I owe them one."

"Kendall, I promise you, I'll be fine." He reiterated.

"You better be." Kendall warned him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He answered.

As she hung up, Kendall just looked to Riley.

"So, does your brother make a habit of risking his life?" She asked him.

"I guess sometimes he does take his reputation a little seriously." He told her. "He's always had this habit of walking away from stuff he probably shouldn't."

"Well, it looks like we're all here for the night." Kendall grumbled, getting up. She gestured to Koda and Ivan to come with her.

"Can I have everyone's attention please!" She announced. "It looks like we're probably not going to get the all clear notice until tomorrow at the earliest, so my employees are going to start handing out storm blankets. I'm sorry you all got trapped here, but rest assured, we'll do everything we can to make this as comfortable as possible. Thank you for your patience and your co-opertion."

She looked to her employees.

"I have some emergency kits in my office." She told them. "Can you help me bring them out?"

As they left to collect the supplies, Tyler just looked to Shelby, furrowing his brows a little. She was listening to some tunes on her radio to pass the time until they got the all clear. Shelby just smirked.

"You realise you are talking about the woman who foresaw the need to weaponries dinosaur farts right?" She said sarcastically. "Given how prepared she is for everything, you doubt she'd have some storm kits in the office?"

"I guess you've got a point there." He said with a little laugh. He looked to the radio, hearing the music coming from it. "Is that those N-Zed Boys again?"

"Yeah, it is." She answered. "The radio station's promoting their concert. They've been playing their single almost non-stop for the last week to promote it."

"I guess you haven't been objecting." Chase said as he came over with some coffee for them both. He and Allison were handing out warm drinks, hoping to keep the customers as comfortable as possible.

"You know Chase, not everyone likes what you do." Allison reminded him.

"You know, it's really not that bad." Tyler admitted, bobbing his head in time to the music. "I mean, it's not really the kind of thing I normally listen to, but it is kind of catchy."

"Catchy, are you kidding?" Chase asked in response. "Kieran sounds like a strangled cat, that's why all he does is dance in the background, Ryan and Keith are always out of time on their dance routine and their sound is autotuned to hell."

Allison just looked to Chase curiously, hearing him say this.

"Guys, will you be quiet a moment?" Shelby interrupted them, waving frantically. "They're announcing something; it might be about the storm?"

"Ladies and gentlemen, that news once again, due to storm damage the N-Zed Boys management have announced that they will unfortunately have to move the concert to the Reynold's theatre. Unfortunately since this is a smaller venue, the concert is now officially sold out!" The announcer stated. Shelby let out a little scream of disappointment hearing this. "We do still have a competition for some backstage passes..."

"NO!" Shelby complained. "They're sold out? This was my only chance to see them while they were touring America!"

"Come on Shelby, you aren't going to be missing out on anything." Chase told her. Shelby looked to him, but instead of lashing back, she just seemed to succumb to her disappointment.

"I know you think they're lame." Shelby answered. "I get it."

With that, she left the room.

"Shelby!" Tyler called after her. "Nice going man."

"What? She isn't going to be missing anything! You can trust me on that!" Chase answered.

"For the last time, not everyone has to like what you do Chase." Tyler replied, looking more than a little angry with the Black Ranger. "She was really looking forward to that concert. I think you've hurt her feelings."

As Tyler left to go after Shelby, Chase threw up his hands.

"Oh come on, how am I the bad guy?" He asked.

"Chase, you just couldn't let it drop could you?" Allison asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"She isn't missing..."

"You might not like it, but you know how you get when the All Blacks play." Allison answered him. "Besides, she has every right to be pissed with us. We were late getting here, if you'd been on time then she would have been able to go and buy tickets."

With that, Allison went back to handing out warm drinks as Kendall, Ivan and Koda returned with the blankets. Chase did have to admit feeling a little bad about the fact Shelby missed out because he was late to work, but he still didn't get what the big deal was. The odds were in a year's time no one would even have heart of the N-Zed Boys.


	5. The Storm Passed

Morning broke over Amber Beach, and somewhere in the night, the winds had finally died down. It was still gusty, but the worst of the storm had passed. By the time the sun rose over the tree line, it was so mild that the animals that had taken shelter were now making their way back out to resume their lives as normal.

The sounds of the first songbirds stirred Fury from his sleep. He and his accomplices had taken refuge in a cave following the crash of their drop pod. As he started to come to, he found it difficult to move. He cast his eyes aside, seeing an arm draped across him. Following it along, he found Gold-digger huddled into him for warmth. Wrench was there too, also curled right in. He let out a huge growl, before sending out pulse, sending both of them flying. He scrambled to his feet, snatching up his sword while his cohorts both stared up at him, completely confused by the rude awakening.

"What the HELL are you doing?" Fury roared.

"US?" Wrench asked. "You're the one that blasted us across the cave!"

"We all agreed to SEPERATE SLEEPING AREAS!" Fury yelled.

"We did sleep separately!" Gold Digger protested as he held his hands up over his face.

"Well that's not how I woke up!" Fury responded as he adjusted his grip on his sword.

"Fury, it was cold! It's natural instinct to seek heat!" Wrench responded as he got back up to his feet. "We probably lumped together while we were sleeping for warmth."

"Your body is mostly metal you idiot!" Fury snapped as he put his sword away, finally satisfied that it probably was just something that happened in the night. He'd been on his own on Earth long enough to know about survival. The body did naturally seek sources of heat when hypothermia was a danger. He shook his head. "I survived on my own for 65 million years...I doubt you two morons could last 65 SECONDS."

"At least the storm seems to have passed." Gold Digger said, looking outside. "So, what do we do now?"

"We do what we came here to do." Fury responded, grabbing Wrench and shoving him towards the entrance. "Come on! If we're lucky everyone will be just as rattled by last night's wind as you two useless imbeciles."

Over in Millport, people were starting to emerge from their storm shelters, having heard that the winds had died down at long last. The time to hide had passed, now was the time to do the difficult part, see the damage that had been done and take stock of what needed to be done to rebuild and get on with their lives.

The buildings, for the most part, weren't too badly damaged. Some windows were broken, and a lot of roof tiles were missing, but for the most part the buildings were still standing. They had been built to withstand the harsh conditions.

"It isn't the worst I've seen." One of the townspeople said with a sigh. This was a reality of life for them. Because the town was built long before modern building practices, any time there was a major incident, a big storm, a fire, an earthquake...there was always a lot of clearing up and rebuilding to do. It was just the way their lives were. Mr Taylor and Mr Harris stepped forward, more than a little shell-shocked.

Mr Taylor owned the tavern, while Mr Harris owned the General Store next door. They had both been caught in the fire caused by the gas rupture. All that was left was the smouldering wreckage that had once been their businesses and homes.

"It's...it's all gone." Mr Harris stammered, looking to what was left of his life's work. The general store was in his family for years, he had taken it over nearly fifteen years ago when his own father retired. Walking into the wreckage, stepping over charred lumbers, he couldn't even see much in the way of recognisable stock. "It's all gone, everything."

"I'm sorry Mr Harris." Matt said sympathetically, coming to him. Mr Harris had organised the efforts to get the fire under control when Mr Taylor and his family were trapped inside. He had ignored his own home, his livelihood in what looked like a vain attempt to save one of his neighbours. "If there was anything we could have done..."

"Believe me, you did more than enough." Mr Taylor replied, looking to his daughter Jess, who was holding Stevie in her arms. "It's going to be hard, but this can be rebuilt. I owe you my life, my family owes you their lives."

"I'm not sure I can take all the credit." Matt said with a little blush as he accepted the adulation of his neighbours. "If that thing hadn't showed up, there'd probably have been another funeral on the list. Something I'm sure my mother, and my girlfriend are going to make sure I hear all about when I next see them."

"I don't envy you with that." Mr Taylor chuckled sympathetically. They all knew how protective Mrs Griffin was of her boys.

"So, where do we begin?" Mr Harris asked.

"You can have all the lumber you need." Mr Edwards, the owner of the local mill assured them.

"I can do as much work as you need." Mr White, the local carpenter added. "And I have a spare room, it's not much but one of you can stay with me until we have things up and running."

Others were quick to follow to offer what they could, whether it was time, materials or somewhere to stay. This again was just the way of things. Sometimes, they hit hard times, and one of the few things that kept things going was everyone's willingness to pull together and offer what they could when someone else was in need.

None of them noticed as a van arrived, and Phillipe stepped out. He knew of the problems in the town, having used his G-Bot to help the night before, and he wanted to stop by to have a look for himself. Margaret was just a short way behind him.

"My Lord, is everyone alright?" He asked, causing the townsfolk to turn and look to him. They were used to seeing him around, but he was still very much an outsider. Matt was the one to break the silence.

"There are no funerals to arrange." Matt told him. "But there's a lot of rebuilding work to do."

"It would appear so." Phillipe added, looking to the wreckage. He knew the fire was bad, but seeing how it had run rampant when the residents were forced to go into cover and leave it unchecked, it was now clear exactly how much harm this storm had done. "I would like to help."

"Any help is appreciated." One of them replied. "We could always use an extra pair of hands..."

"That isn't exactly what I had in mind, but I do feel I can be of help." He replied, pulling out a cheque book. He quickly scribbled a cheque and handed it to Matt. "I regret I must leave, other matters demand my attention, however please accept this as a token of my gratitude for the hospitality this town has shown me."

As he started to head towards the van, one of the Fisher boys just snorted.

"I suppose things got a little too hard for him out here." He said in disgust. "So, he thinks signing a cheque for a few bucks will help?"

"Not exactly." Matt answered, showing him the cheque after he read it. He then handed it to Mr Harris. The old shop owner's eyebrows shot up and he almost fell over seeing the figure on the cheque. Others quickly gathered around.

"Is this some kind of joke?" He gasped. Matt smiled and shook his head.

"I don't think so." He answered. Phillipe had made a point of not telling anyone who he was, trying not to be treated any differently, but since he was now leaving, he figured it didn't really matter anymore. "That's Prince Phillipe III, heir to the throne of Zandar."

The townspeople all crowded around, passing the cheque back and forth, unable to believe what had happened. Matt though opted to leave, following Phillipe to the van.

"Hey, Phillipe!" He called out, seeing him talking to Margaret by the side of the van. Phillipe turned towards him.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Phillipe asked him. Matt shook his head.

"I think you've helped enough." Matt answered. "That cheque should be more than enough to hire enough labourers to have this town back on its feet in a week."

"I like this place Matt, I can see why you love it so." Phillipe told him. "I have a lot to be grateful to this place for. This is just my way of thanking you all."

"So you're really just going to go?" Matt asked him.

"I am afraid other matters are pressing on my time." Phillipe answered. "Though if all your mother's recipes are as good as her rabbit stew, then I will certainly be back."

"They're even better." Matt assured him. As Phillipe was about to go, Matt caught a glance at something in the back. He could see an arm sticking out from under a blanket, one he recognised instantly.

"YOU!" Matt called out. Phillipe just looked to him, seeing Matt pointing into the back. He looked to the robot, then back to him. "That robot in the tavern...that was yours?"

"You taught me a lot Matt, not just about fighting...though I still have enough bruises to know you did that well, but about being a man." Phillipe answered. "I was glad to help how I could."

"You saved my ass." Matt replied. "If it hadn't been for that robot...I owe you my life..."

"Believe me, what this place has taught me has had more value than the tutors I've had my whole life." Phillipe answered. Matt offered him a handshake.

"Whatever you're doing, wherever you're going, good luck." Matt answered. Phillipe accepted the handshake warmly.

"Farewell my friend." Phillipe responded. "Feel free to call me if the town requires any further..."

"Believe me, I think that cheque will be more than enough." Matt assured him. With that, Phillipe got into the van with Margaret, who was sitting by the steering wheel.

"Head down the road to the freeway." Philipe told her. "I'll tell you where to turn off."

There was a knock at the door, one which reverberated through the whole flea-bitten bedsit. Jack slowly stirred into consciousness from his sofa, throwing off his blanket. He looked outside, seeing that there was daylight coming between the blackout curtains he owned due to his hectic schedule and uneven sleep pattern. As the door pounded again, he just grabbed a bottle.

"It's open!" He called out. The door opened and Carl came in.

"Jack, I've been trying to call you all night." He told him. Jack just looked to his cell phone seeing 57 unanswered calls.

"So I see." He muttered, slugging some whiskey.

"Jack, Andrews clled to ask if the weather's going to keep you from attending tonight." Carl told him. Jack just looked confused. "The show in San Fran?"

"That's tonight?" Jack asked him. "I thought..."

"Jack, it's Thursday!" Carl told him. Jack just looked to his phone again. Sometimes, simple things like the date just seemed to slip his mind.

"SHIT!" He exclaimed. "I need to get a..."

"I've got a ticket here!" Carl told him. "Get your gear, the airport re-opened an hour ago, if we go now we can make it."

"Re-opened?" Jack asked. "It was closed?"

"The storm?" Carl asked him. Jack just stared at him blankly. "Never mind, put your gear in a bag and let's go, you can clean up when you get there!"

Jck hurriedly grabbed his tights and boots off a coffee table and stuffed them into a rucksack, before going to the door.

In her motel room, Alessandra woke up, having finally drifted off due to sheer exhaustion. There had been bad storms in Mexico when she was a kid, but this seemed like the worst thing she had ever gone through. The motel didn't have a storm shelter, it was built recently on the budget end of the scale, and it showed. Even before the storm, the corners of the room showed signs of damp, and it was possible to hear a conversation in the next room if people spoke louder than the average coffee maker. It was all she could afford, but it did make for some uncomfortable nights.

She was on the floor, on the wafer-thin mattress from her bed bundled in as many blankets as she could fearing that if she fell from the bed because of the storm it would only aggrevate her shoulder and delay her return to the ring. She looked around and saw to no surprise that most of the things that weren't secured were on the floor. The TV, the coffee maker...she was almost glad she didn't actually own any of it.

She heard a knock on the door, and looked around with a start.

"Alessandra!" She heard someone say. She recognised the voice, and her face split into a bright smile. She ran to the door, quickly unlatching it.

"KODA!" She yelled, leaping into his arms. Koda hugged her tightly, gripping her in his arms and lifting her off her feet. It wasn't hard, and she was used to it, given her career as a wrestler, she was used to people throwing her around, and given her small size, pretty much everyone that she faced was expected to throw her around like a rag doll. However, when it happened with him, it felt...different. She wasn't internally making the calculations to figure out how to land when she finally hit the ground, she wasn't thinking about whether she was meant to flip over onto her back or land on her belly, she was just...happy not to be on the ground. His arms around her were warmer than what the hotel laughably called a duvet, and she just felt comfortable and safe. "You come?"

"Storm over, I want to see you alright." He told her. "I...I make sure."

"I fine." Alessandra assured him as he let her down. "I see worse, there bad storms home too."

She looked to Koda and saw the way he was looking at her. She was suddenly aware of how she looked. She was in her pyjamas, and had unwashed and unbrushed hair. She hurriedly, tried to hide herself.

"Sorry, I just wake up." She told him, fetching her coffee maker off the floor. "I make..."

She paused as she saw a distinct problem, the glass had shattered when it hit the floor. She just sighed, before something started to stir in her chest, an ill feeling that crept up, and didn't stop until it hit her eyes. Suddenly, she leant over the counter and started sobbing.

"Why cry?" Koda asked her. "Starbucks on corner..."

"This not what I want!" She yelled. "You here, this...agujero de mierda!"

Koda just stared at her confused.

"I not shower, look like mierda!" She continued.

"You very pretty." Koda assured her. She just looked unconvinced.

"I know you want be kind, but I look..."

"You always pretty to me." Koda told her, before taking him in his arms and pressing his lips to hers.

Alessandra woke up with a start as she heard a loud noise. She saw a man she didn't know taking the large screen TV off the unit in her room.

"Uh...dude...I think she just woke up." He said to his accomplice, who was taking the coffee maker. They both ran from the room as Alessandra leapt to her feet and ran after them, screaming obscenities in Spanish. By the time she ran into the parking lot, barefoot and still in her pyjamas, she was just in time to see them getting into a van with some guys who were clearly robbing other rooms in the confusion of the storm and speeding away.

Knowing she could never keep up with them, she launched into a stream of Spanish obscenities that woke up everyone in the motel and caused them to come out of their rooms...most to find out just like her they had been robbed while they were sheltering from the storm. She eventually turned to return to her room, only to find the door had closed behind her, she was locked out of the room that held the few possessions she actually had. She just threw up her hands and stormed to the reception desk.

"I need key to room." She told the guy at the desk.

"Name and room number?" He asked.

"I live here five months!" She screamed at him. He just looked to her.

"Name and room number?" He asked again. She just sighed.

"Room 103." She responded. "Martinez."

He put a card into a machine and handed it to her. Alessandra just forced a mile at him, thankful he couldn't see into her mind, or understand her native tongue.


	6. All That Glitters

The Rangers were at the museum, trying as best as they could to muddle through their shifts. Although there were other staff members, and Kendall was trying her best to get them to come to the museum, they all knew it wasn't exactly going to be instantaneous. Even without the storm to take into account, it would take some time for those that didn't believe they were going to be needed for some time, or even at all that day to get ready for a shift and travel in. However, given the storm, others had unforeseen delays that they would have to overcome as well. Some had damage to their homes that they would have to secure before they could safely leave, lest they become the victim of opportunistic looters. Some of them had damage to their vehicles and needed to arrange other transport. The upshot was, they all knew it was likely to be at least lunch time before any of them were likely to be going home.

Sleeping on the floor of the museum was hardly the most restful night's sleep, and so most of them were noticeably tired, continuing a shift that had essentially lasted the full night by the time they had to take care of those customers who had been forced to take shelter in the museum. Tyler yawned loudly by the register, resting his face on his hand. Shelby came by the counter, bringing in dishes. The customers who had to take shelter were now gone, but the surprising thing was more customers were coming in. For most of the morning, they had a steady stream of emergency workers who had been working most of the night in need of meals. Kendall didn't really feel it was right to just close the door on them. While others sought shelter, they had been risking their wellbeing the whole night to keep the city safe.

"Hey, we're all tired." She whispered. "But we have food to get out."

"I'm up, I'm up." He assured her sleepily, heading back to the grill. There was really no need to be by the register. One of the first decisions Kendall made was that it didn't really feel right to charge emergency workers for their meals after working through the night. They didn't even want to think what the combination of a night catering to those trapped in the museum and a morning dealing with hungry firemen, police and ambulance crews would end up costing the museum and were more than grateful Anton was footing the bill not them.

"Four more bronto burgers, large fossil fries and coffees, table eight." Riley told him as he got there. Tyler just looked to the food, and then to the table. Four large fire fighters were sitting, wiring their way through their first round.

"Wow." Tyler commented, picking up a tray. "I suppose working all night really works up an appetite."

"Tell Chase his order for table six is ready!" Riley rushed out.

"I'll get them!" Allison added, taking the tray and heading past. Riley just wiped his brow.

"I really hope this lets up soon." Riley commented. "I am beat."

"We all are." Shelby responded as she grabbed a tray of sodas. "These are for...?"

"The cops on table nine." Riley reminded her.

"Got you." She answered, heading out. Just as she left, Riley heard a roar from the back, and looked around. Koda came storming out, talking on his cell phone.

"They do what?" He asked. "I come over! I find! I kill..." He paused as the person on the other end said something. "You sure you alright? They not hurt?"

He breathed a noticeable sigh of relief.

"I come over when shift over." Koda answered. "Please, stay safe."

As he hung up, Riley just looked to him.

"So...who are you going to kill?" He asked. Koda was noticeably more awake and alert than the others. He was used to sleeping in the cave anyway, so sleeping on a hard floor was nothing new to him. It was just a slight change of bed. Koda sighed and shook his head.

"Bad men go into Alessandra's room." Koda told him. Riley looked noticeably worried, no doubt thinking along the lines of what Koda was imagining could have happened. "They take her stuff."

"They robbed her?" Riley asked as Chase came in with some dishes. He just looked confused.

"Who robbed who?" Chase asked.

"Bad men steal from Alessandra." Koda told him. "Come in during storm while she asleep."

"Looters?" Chase asked. "God, Koda is she alright?"

"She say she fine." Koda assured him. "They take her stuff, but she chase away."

"Wow, that is quite a woman you have there." Chase complimented him, imagining the scene. Alessandra was only about five feet tall, and in no danger of breaking a hundred pounds, but she was no victim, even with her injury. It sounded just like her to send a couple of jokers looking for an easy score running for the hills. "Are you heading over?"

"Go after shift." Koda answered. Just then, Kendall came into the diner. She had gone to the lab to scan for signs of any distress signals, and more importantly for any signs of an attack. The town was recovering, but still in chaos. It was far too good an opportunity to pass up if Sledge was paying any kind of attention to the local news.

"You're all going to have to go." Kendall told them. "I've just picked up some alien bio signs just outside of the city."

"I knew this was too good an opportunity for Sledge to miss." Riley grumbled, taking off his apron.

"I'll help Allison, the rest of you go." Kendall told them, taking the apron. They all looked to her, a little surprised. "What?"

"Since when do you work in the cafe?" Chase asked.

"Since we don't really have many other options." She replied. "We only have to serve for another hour or so before we can close, we can handle it until then. The five of you go, I'll send Ivan along once he's back from the stock room."

"You heard the lady." Chase responded as they grabbed their stuff and ran for the door, stopping only to signal the others.

Meanwhile, on a road into Amber Beach, Phillipe was driving the simple white van along the road. Margaret was still sitting in the passenger seat, completely unaware of whatever his grand plan was. She knew he intended to go back to Amber Beach at some point, but she had no idea what his intent was going back now. For one thing, she didn't even know really where they were going, just that he insisted now was the time to pack up everything and head for the city.

The roads were still showing the signs of the storm. They came across workers clearing uprooted trees and displaced debris from the road, with markers down to indicate a safe route. A police officer signalled the traffic to allow safe passage in both directions...not that there were many people going INTO Amber Beach right now. Indeed, it was so strange that the cop felt compelled to wave him in.

"Sir, the roads up ahead are very dangerous." The police officer told him. "The city isn't the easiest to get through right now. There is a bypass road a couple of miles..."

"I appreciate your concern officer, but we're here to help out." Phillipe told him. "We have business within the city."

The cop could tell he was foreign, his accent was a definite giveaway. He tried to get a glance into the back of the van, but all he could see was a large crate. He was curious about why anyone, particularly someone so far out of their way would want to go into a city after the worst storm in years, but he finally relented. There wasn't anything illegal about wanting to visit a city cleaning up after a natural disaster.

"Drive safely sir." He responded, waving him through. Phillipe followed his signal as he kept the lane clear. Margaret started to fidget in her seat.

"So, would you mind telling us WHERE exactly we're going?" She asked him. Phillipe just smiled.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" He asked her. "You need to learn to enjoy a little mystery, take joy in a few surprises every now and then."

"It's been my job to ensure there were no surprises around you for years." She reminded him as his head of security. Phillipe just shook his head.

"Margaret, you worry too much." He told her. Margaret just settled back into her seat.

"At least one of us does." She grumbled.

Elsewhere, on a trail just outside of the city, the Rangers were looking around for signs of the alien life signs that Kendall had detected.

"These are definitely the co-ordinates Ms Morgan gave us." Riley confirmed, checking his Dino Comm for their location. "What do you think they would even be doing out here?"

"We're not far from our training area, maybe they're looking for that?" Tyler suggested.

"Maybe they tried to launch an attack last night and got caught in the storm?" Shelby suggested as they started to fan out. Chase was walking along with Koda. He could see that he was still clearly wishing he could have had the chance to check on Alessandra. Ranger business was rarely considerate of such matters though.

"Koda, if you're serious about wanting more from her, you need to say something to her." Chase told him. Koda was still morose over the fact he couldn't do anything to help her right now. He was so far from her, and he knew his duties were important, but that didn't make him feel any better about not rushing straight over when he heard from her. "Look, I know you're nervous about this, it's always a scary step, especially with the first girl."

"It become easier?" Koda asked. "No wonder so easy for you."

"Ouch." Chase replied, knowing full well didn't mean anything by it. He did have a lot of experience in asking girls out, but he knew it was very different when there were genuine feelings there. Most of the times he asked girls out, it was more a case of seeing if they had anything in common and having a good time than any real intent on starting a romantic relationship. He put his arm around him. "Look, you just need the confidence to ask her, which I know is scary, but there are a few things you can do to tip the scales a little, put the odds in your favour."

"Like what?" Koda asked him. Chase smiled as he looked to him.

"You put in an effort, show her that she's special." Chase told him. "You rock up to her, dressed to impress, looking good, and...flowers. Girls love flowers."

"Take her flowers?" Koda asked him. The concept was a little confusing. He wasn't at all unfamiliar with the idea of bringing a gift to someone to show interest, it was a custom in his day too. Of course usually it would be something of some practical use. Flowers were...well...they were flowers. It wasn't as if she could use them for anything.

"Trust me mate." Chase assured him. "And...chocolates are always good. Oh, and you can never give her enough compliments. Just say all the nice things you can about her."

"Say nice things about her." Koda repeated. This made a lot more sense than the flowers. He wasn't sure how things worked in this time, and he had to trust that Chase knew what he was talking about. After all, Chase did have a girlfriend, while Koda really didn't.

"Yeah, and then just say something really smooth, really classy, like..."

"Oh look!" Koda called out, running down the path as he saw something just lying on the path ahead. It was a shiny, gold coin, one that looked unlike the money that he was used to seeing. It reminded him of when Ivan first arrived. He was carrying coins from his time in his purse, and while initially they were worthless, not being the same as the money of his time, Kendall had assured him that they were valuable. Buying a few for the museum and selling the rest to collectors had given Ivan a good start on buying what he needed to get by in this new time. This made more sense as a gift for Alessandra than the flowers to Koda. She'd just been robbed, and she was still struggling since she had been unable to work, but she was too proud to simply live off handouts. A little extra money would be really helpful to her right now. "It my lucky day."

"Who would have left those here?" Shelby asked, looking a little confused. It wasn't like they had to dig them up or anything, the coins were quite literally just lying on the ground, right out in the open. While the trail wasn't the most popular hiking path, it seemed strange that no one else would have found them if they had been out there any length of time. They all watched as Koda rushed off the path, finding another, and another...and another! Soon, he was standing with a veritable handful of the coins! He looked to the others, smiling brightly.

"It so shiny!" He declared proudly, trying to imagine the expression on Alessandra's face when he gave them to her. This was also odd. If they had been out in the open any length of time, they would expect them to be at least a little worn and dirty. Looking closer, they could see that they weren't just shiny, they were starting to glow.

Chase and Tyler both looked to each other, coming to the same conclusion. They hadn't been there long, they had been planted for them to find! They didn't know what exactly they were, but the way they were glowing, they didn't want to take any chances. They ran at Koda, Tyler swiping them from Koda's hands while Chase tackled him to the ground. They all rolled clear just in time as the coins exploded. They heard some laughter a short way off and turned to see Fury, Wrench and Gold Digger standing before them.

"Time for a little payback Rangers!" Fury greeted them.

"And I've got money to burn!" Gold Digger responded, pulling out a handful of coins and throwing them the Rangers' direction. They all scattered, going for their morphers as the coins exploded.

Back in Amber Beach, Phillipe pulled the van to a stop, getting out and staring at a building. Margaret got out as well, standing next to him.

"So, what do you think?" He asked, gesturing to it. Margaret just looked up. It was the old Alphabet Soup building. It had been abandoned for years, as was evidenced by its appearance. She just shook her head and tried to find the words.

"It's...well...it's..." She started to say, before just giving up. "Alright, what exactly am I looking at?"

"You're looking at my latest acquisition." Phillipe told her. "I had a team safely de-activte the old technology and turn it over to the government. In return, they sold me the building."

"You bought...this?" She asked him. "OK, I'm still lost...why exactly?"

"The way I see it, if I do become a Ranger, I can't exactly be running from Zandar every time a monster attacks." He explained. "Not to mention I was sincere when I believed Zandar should start taking a more active interest in foreign affairs."

Margaret just had a blank expression on her face.

"We're going to need somewhere to stay, and a good cover for why I'm spending so much time in America, something to cover why we're really here." He told her. He gestured to the building once more. "I think it's high time Zandar opened its first Foreign Embassy."

"Embassy?" She asked him. "You want to turn...THIS into an Embassy?"

"Come now Margaret, its prime real-estate!" He told her. "It'll require some work, but it isn't as though I don't have the means to make that happen. I have a feeling this building has all the potential in the world."

As he headed towards it, Margaret just sighed.

"I guess you're the imaginative one." She replied, following him dutifully to the building.


	7. Secret Weapon Fail

Back in the woods, the Rangers were locked in a fierce, but surprising battle. Normally when Sledge sent a party to Earth, they could expect a monster, maybe one of his cronies along for the ride, and a whole flood of Viviks, however, this time something was different. Both Sledge AND Wrench had accompanied this monster, who had been identified as "Gold Digger", and there wasn't a vivik in sight.

They didn't really have much time to ponder the difference in this approach though. While Wrench was primarily a technician, his cybernetics made him a formidable warrior in his own right, something Tyler had found out the hard way in one of their earliest battles. As for Fury...he had described himself on occasion as Sledge's "partner" rather than a henchman. As far as he was concerned, he was Sledge's equal. Given the way their few direct battles against him had gone, it was difficult to argue with that assessment. They may not have had a legion of viviks to contend with, but the small party had a lot of power at their disposal.

"Man, this guy looks like a museum threw up!" Shelby commented as she avoided another of his explosions. Chase and Riley were quickly by her side, while Koda kept Wrench at bay. Tyler, as per usual made a bee-line straight for Fury, carrying on their long-standing grudge match. Gold Digger ran at the three Rangers, staff in hand, and attacked them.

"You can't talk, you...you...box of crayons." He answered. Chase just sighed, levelling his pistol over his shoulder and stared at him.

"Box of crayons?" He asked sarcastically. "Really? THAT'S the best you can come up with?"

"He's obviously not the brains of the outfit." Riley agreed, rushing in with his Dino Sabre. Shelby wasn't far behind him.

Fury and Tyler battled a short way off, going after each other with unrestrained rage. The last time they'd faced each other directly, Fury had only escaped when Tyler was called away to help his friends against the clone monster. The shame of a defeat at the hands of a mere human was still raw in his mind, and he had something to prove. Tyler though always had a personal issue with Fury though. Fury knew about his father. He knew what had happened to him, he was the most direct lead Tyler had to the mystery of his dad's disappearance. Any time they had fought, Tyler always had it in his mind, his hope that he could defeat him, punish him, and finally force him to tell him what he knew. Although he dreaded in some ways what he might say, it would finally give him closure, and let him know where to search for him...or if his search was over and allow Tyler to avenge him.

"How many times do we have to do this Fury?" Tyler screamed at him. "By the time I'm through with you, you'll be begging to tell me what you did to dad!"

"It's so pathetic, hearing you continually whine and cry after your weakling father!" Fury answered, parrying Tyler's blade, locking it in the intricate flame-like hooks along the blade. "I would find it pitiful if I actually had any pity!"

He threw his blade out to the side, ripping Tyler's sword from his hand and throwing it aside, before attacking him, sending him spinning away. Fury started to approach him.

"Maybe once I take your Energem, I'll finally put you out of your misery and tell you what I did." Fury growled as he started to approach. Before he could get to him though, the Ptera Sabre flew through the air, landing right in front of him. Lightning arced from it, surging through him in an agonising attack. Tyler got to his feet as Ivan landed right by him, snatching up his sabre.

"Ivan!" Tyler greeted him. "You made it!"

"Those emergency workers had a monumental appetite." He commented. "Now, how about you retrieve your sword and we take on this beast together? We both have a score to settle with this villain."

"Just don't finish him too quickly." Tyler reminded him. "He still knows where my dad is."

"Believe me, after 800 years I am in no hurry to see Fury gain the peace of the next life!" Ivan agreed as Tyler picked up his Dino Sabre. They both rushed towards Fury, screaming as they fell upon him with murderous intent.

Not far off, Koda was fighting with Wrench, blocking his axe with his Stego Shield.

"Why you here?" Koda asked him. "You usually hide behind bombs and machines."

It wasn't Koda's usual MO to bother to taunt his enemies, but he had heard Chase and Tyler swearing by their wise-cracks, drawing their opponent off their game. Wrench was surprisingly strong, and Koda was finding this fight difficult, so he figured now was as good a time as any to give it a try.

"I'm only out here because of that blonde friend of yours!" He whined as he slammed his axe repeatedly into Koda's shield. "She stopped my bomb, now because of that, Sledge blames me for what happened to his ship!"

"Kendall smart, much smarter than dumb metal man." Koda continued to insult him. "Not her fault you not smart enough."

"SHE IS NOT SMARTER THAN ME!" Wrench screamed, blasting Koda off his feet. "Once I prove myself to Sledge and defeat you, it'll be my weapons that bring him all your Energems and destroy this planet while your little friend can only watch! Then again, I may just destroy her first!"

"You not hurt Kendall!" Koda yelled in response, getting back to his feet and running at him.

Meanwhile, Chase, Riley and Shelby were still battling Gold Digger, but despite his ridiculous appearance, something of a cross between a treasure chest and a haphazard arrangement of stone slabs covered in hieroglyphics, he was proving to be much tougher than his appearance would have them believe.

"You're in luck!" He told them, throwing a handful of his coins into the air. "Time to share the wealth!"

They rained down from above on the three Rangers, peppering them with explosions. However, it was quickly becoming clear that his explosive coins lacked the punch required to do significant damage to the Rangers through their suits. Riley was back up and running for him almost instantly.

"Your luck's run out moneybags!" Riley yelled as he slammed a Dino Charger into his Sabre, powering up the blade. Gold Digger watched Riley leaping into the air, spinning towards him, his blade glowing brightly. In a panic, he grabbed one of his stone slabs and held it up in the way. Even powered up, Riley's blade rebounded off it uselessly. The energy dissipated the only way it could, straight back up the blade. Riley felt like his shoulder had been ripped out of its socket, and staggered away, staring at him in disbelief. He threw a few more attacks, but Gold Digger kept getting the slab in the way.

"That slab is like steel!" Riley complained as he found none of his attacks accomplishing anything. "We need more power!"

He was knocked down, just as Shelby powered up to Dino Charge mode. Her Tricera Drill had gone through some of the toughest opponents she'd ever faced like a blowtorch through butter. She was certain that it would be the deciding factor in the battle. Unfortunately as she struck home, unleashing its power, she found herself tumbling head over heels backwards, landing on her butt almost thirty feet away, completely dazed and confused. Gold Digger looked to his stone slab, just as confused as Shelby. He knew they were tough, but he was sure he was a goner when he saw Shelby coming for him. However, looking to the slab, it hadn't just held up, there wasn't so much as a chip out of it.

"Shelby, are you OK?" Chase asked her. They looked up to see Gold Digger laughing gleefully.

"I'll need to tell Fury about this!" He called out, running away in search of his boss.

"Come on, we need to get after him!" Chase yelled as he helped Shelby up.

Fury landed in a heap, having taken a hard shot from the Red Ranger, only to be quickly joined by Wrench, who had learned the hard way that threatening Kendall around the Blue Ranger was a terrible idea.

"Get off me you tin-plated nitwit!" Fury snarled as he threw Wrench off him, using his sword to get shakily back to his feet. "I thought you could fight!"

"Well you don't look like you're doing any better!" Wrench grumbled. "I can smell the scorched fur from here!"

"Wow, no wonder you guys can't fight us!" Tyler commented as he, Ivan and Koda arrived. "You can't even get along with each other!"

"Fury, Fury!" Gold Digger called out excitedly as he ran into the area, carrying his stone slab. "I've got it! I know how we can beat the Rangers!"

"Then why aren't they destroyed already?" Fury asked him, his patience wearing thin.

"What now?" Tyler asked. "What does the walking piggy bank think he can throw at us?"

"I'll crush them with my stone slabs!" He declared, showing him his stone slab.

"That's it?" Tyler asked. "He's going to throw stones at us?"

"Guys, we can't underestimate him." Riley rushed out as the others joined them. "Those stone slabs are really tough. They took everything we threw at them."

"It even took my Tricera Drill, look!" She replied, holding it up. The point was blunted and bent out of shape.

"Well, they better, or I'll crush YOU!" Fury warned Gold Digger, shoving him forward. Gold Digger threw the stone slab high into the air.

"Uh...I think you kind of missed." Chase responded. Unfortunately, as they looked up, the slab multiplied in the air, before they greatly increased in size! The Rangers all dived for cover as they slammed into the ground. Each of them now looked like it had to weigh a couple of tons!

"You know, I really hate when someone says something like that!" Shelby grumbled.

"So long Rangers!" Gold Digger cackled as he saw them attempting to regroup. "You can't avoid my stone slabs forever!"

Chase stepped forward, remembering the tests from the previous morning. He had smashed his way through the cinderblock wall without even trying.

"Guys, I can break through his slabs with the Dino Armour X Jaws." Chase told them, putting the Charger into his morpher. He gripped it tightly. "Dino Armour X Charger!"

He felt the energy starting to build up, flooding through his system. However, just as the armour was about to form up, he found himself unable to hold his hands straight. The power almost seemed to fight against him, pulling him this way and that. He couldn't hold his hands steady as he was pulled around.

"It's out of control!" Chase called out as the power pulled him off the ground, into a spiral attack, which was heading right for the ground. However, without the armour forming up, he just found himself being driven at speed head-first into the ground. He was thankful that it was relatively soft mud he landed in. Fury, Wrench and Gold Digger all laughed at the Black Ranger's misfortune.

"What...what happened?" Chase asked.

"Pathetic!" Gold Digger taunted him, bringing out another slab. "At least MY secret weapon actually WORKS! Stone slabs, multiply!"

The Rangers all darted around as stone slabs came raining down on them. He launched the attack again and again, until eventually Tyler, Ivan and Shelby got caught under one of them. The power of the Energems was the only thing that stopped them being crushed right away, their combined strength being enough to hold the slab. However, seeing they were encumbered and unable to avoid further attacks. He piled more and more slabs on top of them, hoping to crush them. The others could only watch as eventually, the weight was too great and the slabs came crashing down, sinking into the ground, until only one could be seen above ground.

"SHELBY!" Chase called out, seeing them crashing down into the ground. Riley grabbed him.

"Come on Chase, we have to go!" He yelled at the Black Ranger.

"But the others..."

"We're going to be no good to them if we get crushed too!" Riley told him. "For now, we need to run!"

Chase hated to admit it, but so far the only thing they had which even had a chance of combating Gold Digger's slabs was the Dino Armour X Jaws, and for some reason they were no longer working. If they stayed to fight, they were sure to end up the same way as Ivan, Tyler and Shelby. Reluctantly, he, Koda and Riley all turned and ran, leaving Fury, Wrench and Gold Digger to crow over their victory.

"Nice work Gold Digger." Fury complimented him, looking to the stone slab imbedded into the ground where Tyler, Shelby and Ivan had once been standing. "Three down, three to go."

"But how do we get the Energems?" Wrench asked him. Fury just shrugged.

"We can worry about that later." Fury responded. "Once we've taken the Rangers out, Sledge will be so grateful; he'll have us back in a second! Then we'll have all the man-power we'll ever need to dig them out. They like digging up dinosaurs so much, it's a fitting end."

Meanwhile, far underground, Shelby started to come around, coughing a little. She could remember the slabs coming down, and then hearing a crash, but after that, things went dark. They were still dark, but now there was a little glow that illuminated the situation.

"Hey, hey, are you alright?" Tyler asked her. She looked to him and nodded.

"I think so." She answered. "Where are we?"

"We sank into the ground." Ivan informed her. When the slabs came down, it wasn't the Ranger's strength that failed; the ground gave way under their weight. There were numerous volcanic tunnels under Amber Beach, it seemed one of them had opened up underneath them. "We appear to be trapped in some kind of air pocket."

"We're lucky we aren't pancakes." Tyler stated.

"We're not that lucky, this hollow isn't huge, and there are three of us in here." She reminded him. She looked around, quickly tying to judge measurements and doing quick calculations in her head. "If I'm right, we might have...an hour's worth of air at most."

"I spent 800 years inside Fury. I won't die in a hole in the ground." Ivan stated, starting to dig out to the side, knowing he didn't have any chance of getting through the slabs. Shelby stopped him.

"Ivan! If you dig away the earth, you might upset the balance." Shelby told him. "You could bring the slabs down on top of us!"

"So what do we do?" Tyler asked.

"There's nothing we can do." Shelby told him. "All we can do is hope the others think of something quickly."


	8. True To The Heart

Chase, Riley and Koda finally stopped running after about half a mile. Casting a quick look back, Riley couldn't see any sign of Fury, Wrench or Gold Digger. By the looks of things, they hadn't bothered to pursue them after their defeat.

"Alright, I think we're out of range." Riley said as he hunched over to catch his breath. He, Chase and Koda all de-morphed, finally feeling like they could do so without any real danger, Fury and the others were nowhere in sight. Chase kicked a stone away in frustration. It was always galling to run away in battle, to admit defeat, but it was much worse when it meant leaving friends behind. He knew that staying to fight would be an exercise in futility. Gold Digger's slabs had made a mockery of everything they had thrown at him.

"Monster drop slabs on friends." Koda growled angrily. "HE SQUISH! MUST MAKE PAY!"

Chase just held his face in his hands, this only made him feel worse, the only thing in their arsenal that MIGHT have a chance of beating him had failed spectacularly. He didn't understand why the Dino X Armour had stopped working, it worked like a charm the day before, and Kendall wasn't in the habit of making weapons that stopped working after only one or two uses.

"Koda, we all feel the same way." Riley told him. "But we have to figure out what we do now or we'll end up the same way."

They heard the Dino Comm's sounding, and answered, expecting Kendall to be on the other end, looking for an update. However, the screen was just dark, and they could only barely see the outline of a human face.

"Guys...are you there?" They heard Shelby's voice saying. They all quickly gathered around.

"SHELBY!" Riley rushed out. "You're...you're alright?"

"We thought you squish!" Koda responded. Chase was relieved to hear her voice, like the others, he had seen them disappear beneath the slabs and immediately suspected the worst like the others.

"We were pushed underground." Shelby told them. "We have a pocket of air, but I don't think it's going to last long."

"Shelby, we're going to get you out of this." Chase rushed out. "Just...don't talk, conserve your air."

"I think we might have an hour...maybe slightly less." Shelby told him. "Whatever you do, please...do it quickly."

As she signed off, likely to prevent wasting what little oxygen they had left by talking, Chase looked to the others.

"Guys, we need to get back to the lab." Chase told them. "The Dino X Jaws are the only thing that has a chance of getting through those slabs to free them."

With that, they all ran for the museum as fast as they possibly could.

Over in San Francisco, Jack arrived at the arena almost straight off his flight. He had a piece of paper with the name of the arena there, but not much else. He could hear from the commotion inside that the show was already underway. He knew he would be late; he'd had to catch a later flight as a result of his misunderstanding over the date he was meant to travel. It wasn't intentional, he'd just...somehow he'd gotten the dates wrong. He was fortunate that Carl had come and reminded him he was meant to be here.

The show was going to be the first step in his newest storyline, one he'd already discussed with Carl. He was about to start a feud with The Kollosal Coallition, one that he intended as a way of bringing Koda into his first matches. He was scheduled to go up against a young star of some renown on the local scene, but it would serve as the beginning of a storyline. A man in a suit approached him, looking more than a little agitated.

"JACK!" He heard someone screaming. He looked to the man, an independent promoter in the San Francisco area that he'd worked with a few times. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I had a few travel issues." Jack told him. "Um...which way to the changing rooms?"

"The same place they were last time!" The promoter screamed, pointing down a hall. "And for Christ's sake hurry up, I thought I was going to have to change the main event!"

Jack went down a corridor, going to a changing room, the one for the "faces" or good guys on the night. He got in, finding a bunch of guys sitting around, passing time in various ways. Some were working out, some were watching the show on a tiny, portable monitor, others were playing poker. Jack took a seat in the corner, and started unpacking his bag.

"Jack, you're cutting it fine, Dutch is going apeshit!" One of the runners told him. "You haven't had a chance to prepare..."

"Tell him we'll call it in the ring." Jack answered. This was a risky tactic for some, usually some people arranged and planned at least some of their match, but sometimes...some would just improvise it. Some talented workers could get away with it, some even relished the spontaneity and random nature of such matches and felt it made them look more legitimate. Of course, it only worked if the performers involved were both experienced and talented enough to be able to pull off complicated spots on the fly.

"But..."

"Just tell him!" Jack replied, tossing a couple of pills into his mouth. "I'll be ready."

"You're on in twenty minutes!" The runner yelled at him.

"Like I said." Jack replied, pulling out his hip flask and slugging some of it. "I'll be ready."

Back in Amber Beach, Allison was out the back of the restaurant, just by the dumpsters, dealing with the clean-up after the Emergency workers. Everyone else had left a while ago, and then Ms Morgan's pager bleeped and she disappeared too, meaning she was left alone to clean up.

There was plenty to do. Between the fact that they'd had people sheltering from the storms overnight, and a host of Emergency workers who seemed to be on a mission to consume every ounce of food in their entire store room. She dumped what felt like the hundredth trash bag into the dumpster and sighed.

"I swear to God Jake, you better have a kick ass way of making this up to me." She grumbled. Almost on cue, she saw him, Koda and Riley running towards the back entrance. "Say Chase, can you give me a hand with...?"

He didn't seem to register her presence though. He ran past her, almost bowling her over, like he didn't even see her.

"Chase!" She called out, running after him. "CHASE!"

As she got around the back though, she couldn't see any sign of them. She was only just behind them; she had no idea where they could have gone...until she noticed something swinging closed inside the plaster T-Rex head display at the back. As she approached, she inspected it, seeing that there was a solid wooden backing to it. Had she really just seen...? She shook her head.

"OK, I really need to get some sleep." She muttered. "I'm starting to see things."

Back in San Francisco, during their match, Jack was grappling with his opponent, a rising star from the local area that the promoter wanted to put over. He'd hired Jack to use his reputation to make him look good. The kid was a good worker; Jack had to admit that much. He wasn't one of the kids that thought wrestling was all brawling and weapons; he actually had a decent knowledge of grappling. Having began his career in the UK where they had a far more wrestling-based style, he liked it when he got the chance to actually wrestle as opposed to just brawl. Jack grabbed him in a front face-lock.

"Shove me in the corner." Jack told him. The kid did as he was told. "Northern Lights!"

The guy he was in the ring with was young, but he was an AMAZING talent. He had quickly grasped everything that was needed of him on a technical level, but beyond that he was also a great personality, one the fandom would buy in spades! The kid arched over, at which Jack flipped to assist the throw, bearing him to the mat. The referee started the count, but Jack kicked out, before switching into a crossface submission. The kid held on for a moment before tapping out.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your winner, 'The Deer Hunter' Jack Malone!" The announcer called out. The crowd were on their feet, applauding the match. The kid had rolled out the ring, leaving Jack to accept the applause. Shortly afterwards though, he heard some Heavy Metal music. There was a commotion and he looked up, seeing Chainsaw Eddie walking up the ramp!

Chainsaw Eddie was one half of a tag team known as the Kollossal Koallition. He was about 230 pounds and as talented as a brick! His hairstyle was now a series of red braids down the back of his head, while the rest was shaved off.

"Here we are, once again idolising some old fart who should have been in a retirement home years ago!" Eddie called over the mike. Jack started pacing, beckoning him to come into the ring, preparing for a fight. Eddie just sneered. "That's just it isn't is? You relics don't realise when it's time to step aside and let the next generation take what's rightfully theirs! Well guess what? If you won't step aside, you'll get mowed down!"

Eddie hopped onto the ring apron at which Jack took a swing for him. The younger man just hopped down without him being able to even touch him.

Before he could even voice his challenge for Eddie to enter the ring, he heard what sounded like a gunshot and was launched to the floor. It was so sudden he hadn't even felt it. He lay on the ground, completely unresponsive as was the script. Another man, Venomous Vinny Vega had come into the ring behind him, slamming a chair into the back of his head. One of the few things that really couldn't be faked in wrestling was weapon shots. While they could do things like use chairs made from aluminium instead of steel, the fact was the only way to convincingly hit someone with a weapon was to hit them with it. Blood started to leak from a split in the back of Jack's head. Eddie picked up another chair and slid under the bottom rope as his tag team partner Vinny picked Jack up, setting him up on his knees. Eddie smashed him across the forehead with the chair as hard as he could, sending Jack to the floor. He rolled over, face-down, and started bleeding heavily onto the mat.

"You see? This industry is full of useless old men! There are far too many useless old men who have more business buying zimmer frames than getting in the ring with the likes of us!" Eddie called over the house mike as the crowd booed loudly. "But sometimes, an old dog just needs put down! I say, consider me the vet!"

Vinny lifted Jack's head and slid a chair under it. Eddie lifted his own chair overhead.

"So long Jack!" He yelled bringing the chair down with a horrendous crash. Jack just lay, face-down in his own blood as Eddie and Vinny stood, being pelted with soda cups and popcorn cups thrown into the ring by the crowd.

In the air pocket, Tyler held Shelby for comfort. They were all taking great care not to do anything too strenuous to use up their air any more quickly than they needed to.

"How long have we been down here?" She asked. The air was already beginning to smell and taste a little stale. They were using up the oxygen, meaning the mix was becoming more harmful by the minute. Tyler checked his watch.

"About 20 minutes." He answered. Ivan hadn't said anything in some time, but they knew he had to be having some bad flashbacks to his time as Fury's prisoner. He'd never really elaborated much on what it was like being trapped by the monster, but he had mentioned he'd only seen glimpses of the outside world. All things considered, this had to be uncomfortably familiar to the Gold Ranger.

"Tyler, listen...if we don't make it..."

"You can't talk like that." Tyler told her. "We've been through worse than this..."

"Tyler, if we don't make it, I just want you to know..." She said, looking to him. "Tyler...I...I..."

Her words were interrupted though as she saw the light from the Dino Comm reflecting on something. She realised it was a knife! While Ivan had adjusted to a lot of things, some old habits died hard. They knew he sometimes still carried some weapons with him. He wasn't carrying around his longsword anymore, but he rarely went anywhere without a dagger. She saw him holding it, the blade pointed towards his chest.

"IVAN!" She yelled. Tyler turned in time to see this too, and reached over, wrestling the knife from the Gold Ranger.

"Ivan, what the hell are you doing?" Tyler asked him.

"The air is thin and becoming thinner." Ivan responded. "It will last only two of us much longer than three."

"Ivan, we're not solving this that way!" Tyler put down flatly. "Give the others a chance."

"It is better that two, or perhaps one of us makes it than all three of us perish." Ivan told him.

"Give the others time." Tyler reiterated. "Have faith."

Ivan just nodded in response, before resting back against the wall, while Shelby tried to contact the others. They knew their time was almost up.

Back in the lab, Chase was pacing impatiently as Kendall ran the Dino X Charger though a diagnostic. He kept looking to his watch, checking the time. He couldn't help thinking about what Shelby had told them. While he doubted she'd have the time to accurately measure and figure it out, she had conservatively estimated they had perhaps an hour of air at most. They were coming close to having used half of that time.

"Come on Ms Morgan, the Dino X Jaws are the only thing that has a chance of getting them out." Chase stated. "You need to get it to work..."

Kendall just shook her head though as she saw the results on the screen. When Chase told her about what happened, it horrified her to think that her technology had failed in their time of need. She could remember a time at the beginning when Chase berated her for not taking time to recover from a concussion, his words had echoed with her for a long time. What the Rangers did every day was dangerous, and as much as they didn't want to think too much about it, there was sadly a chance that they wouldn't return. If one day one of them was just a fraction too slow or their strength was just a fraction too little...if they were just unlucky and they lost their lives, that was one thing, it was tragic but that was just a fact of life. If any of them died because her weapons failed them when they needed them...she would never be able to live with herself.

She could see the readings on the screen though, and they didn't lie. She thought it was odd that the Dino X Armour would work yesterday, then suddenly stop working today. She knew it wasn't unknown for devices to stop working, but usually it was after years of wear and tear, not after only a single day and one use.

"Chase...there's nothing wrong with it." She told him. Chase just looked a little sceptical.

"What do you mean there's nothing wrong with it?" He asked her. "I landed on my HEAD!"

"Chase, it was working fine yesterday, and according to the computer, its working fine now." She told him. "If there's a problem...maybe it's with you."

"You're saying this is MY fault?" Chase yelled, becoming noticeably agitated. Keeper appeared behind him.

"No one is blaming anyone, but the nature of the Energem's power may be the answer." He told him. "The Black Energem did not choose you just for your bravery, but also for your heart. If you have done something that is not true to yourself, perhaps that has disrupted your energy."

"Disrupted my energy?" Chase asked. "This is...what could I have done?"

"Unfortunately we don't have time to figure it out." Kendall sighed, looking to the others. "I didn't want to expand the programme to the others until I knew the Dino X Armour worked, but...I was working on a programme to allow it to work with other Energems."

She took the Energems from Koda and Riley.

"If it won't work with Black energy...maybe it'll work with Blue or Green?" She suggested. She wasn't sure she could get the programme to work in time, but she didn't have a choice but to try. Shelby, Tyler and Ivan were relying on them, and they were running out of time.

Chase just leant against the wall, running his hands though his hair as Kendall tried her best to adapt the Dino X Armour to Koda and Riley. The thought kept echoing in his mind what Keeper had said. He had done something that wasn't true to himself. He had disrupted his energy flow, the fact he couldn't use the Dino X Armour was his fault. What had he done?


	9. Make It Right

As the Rangers rushed back to the site of the battle, Chase was lost in his own thoughts. He wasn't thinking about their previous defeat. He wasn't even thinking about the fact that Fury and his cronies might still be hanging around, knowing full well that the Rangers had to return if they didn't want to just leave their friends to suffocate. All he could think about was what Keeper had told him.

His energy was disrupted by doing something not true to his heart. His Dino X Charger had failed him because of something he did. His friends were still trapped, slowly using up the last of their oxygen because he had done something to bad, that his Energem had punished him for his lack of heart.

Kendall had worked frantically, trying to use her programme to configure the Dino X Armour to Koda and Riley's morphers. She had told him that she was intending to do that eventually anyway, but she wasn't a hundred percent sure that the programme would work. However, with Chase being unable to use it, they were running out of options and running out of time.

What had he done? He'd done a few boneheaded things in his time; he wasn't shy about admitting his mistakes. He had been late for shifts more than a few times, he let his mind wander from what he was meant to be doing at times, and he was well aware of the fact that his friends were occasionally more than a little frustrated with having to pick up the slack.

He pranked his team mates regularly, passing his time and alleviating his boredom at their expense, but that wasn't malicious, he never took things too far. He wasn't the ideal room mate, Riley and Tyler had regularly called the immortal words "roommate foul" when he did something thoughtless, like using the last of the milk or juice and not replacing it, or drank from a carton or left his clothes lying around the floor instead of putting it into the laundry...wow, thinking about all of this, he really did a lot of irritating things. It was a wonder his friends didn't call him out a lot more than they did. However, he couldn't think of anything truly BAD that he did. His friends all knew he really cared about them.

Skidding to a halt, they all dismounted from their raptor cycles, finding that Fury, Wrench and Gold Digger were indeed waiting for them. That would only complicate matters. It was going to be tough enough figuring out if the Dino X Armour would work and free their friends without having to worry about Fury and his comrades running interference.

"So, you had the nerve to show your faces again!" Fury taunted them, drawing his sword. "That's what I love about you Rangers, you're so predictable."

"Guys, we're not going to have a chance to power up the Dino X Armour if they're running interference." Riley stated.

"Leave that to me." Chase told them, rushing straight for the three monsters, powering up into Dino Steel and opening fire with his Para Chopper. He had already tried and failed to use the Dino X Armour once. If he couldn't use it, then he would do the best thing he could, and keep Fury and the others busy while they rescued their friends.

Chase's sudden attack clearly threw Fury and the others into disarray. It was something of a tradition that there was usually a minute or so of throwing verbal jabs back and forth before they got into Ranger battles, however the Rangers were short on time, and so they weren't in the mood for trading their usual insults.

"Alright Koda, Chase has this covered." Riley rushed out as they pulled out their Dino Chargers.

"Dino Armour X Charger! Ready!" They called out together, gripping their morphers tightly. "Activate!"

Chase ploughed into the monsters in a way he never had before. He was a skilled fighter, but now, he was fighting for the lives of his friends. Fury, Wrench and Gold Digger seemed to be surprised by how ferociously he was fighting. As he smashed into Wrench, sending the Cyborg staggering away, he was about to open fire on Fury, but his attention was grabbed as he heard a loud bang behind him. He turned, seeing to his horror, Riley and Koda being pulled around by their morphers, energy flaring up around them. They were both crying out as they struggled to maintain control. Chase recognised it from when it happened to him. The Dino X Armour was failing them.

"What's happening?" Riley grunted as he tried to hold on.

"Can't control!" Koda added. Just then, just like Chase, both of them flew through the air, Koda ending up slamming into a tree a little way off, while Riley disappeared into some bushes with a loud crash.

"NO!" Chase called out as he saw this. Kendall had warned him about this. The Dino X Armour wasn't yet ready to work with anything other than Black Energem energy. Fury took the opportunity to attack Chase while he was distracted, sending him flying.

"You really are getting desperate Rangers, using weapons you clearly have no control over!" Fury taunted them as Gold Digger and Wrench finally regrouped. Gold Digger was preparing another slab, when Fury stopped him. "No, the way they keep throwing themselves around with their own weapons, we won't need them."

"Besides, it'll be far more fun to take them out ourselves." Wrench told him. "All while knowing the last thought through their minds is knowing their friends are waiting for them to rescue them, only a few feet away."

"Let's start with a little game of catch!" Gold Digger responded, bringing out a huge fistful of his coins, throwing them their way. "Heads or tails Rangers!"

Over at the museum, Allison was just finishing up cleaning up the cafe, and was in the middle of shutting off the gas to make sure the grills were off.

"Well, if this doesn't land me a permanent gig, I don't know what will." She grumbled as she headed to the door, shutting off the lights. Kendall had only hired her as a favour to Chase, and she really wanted to impress her. So far, she was just glad that Kendall hadn't apparently had a chance to call the JKP she used to work at. She wasn't a bad person, she was...easily distracted. It wasn't the first time she'd left a pizza in the oven too long, causing a fire evacuation or left the sink running. The final straw for her previous employer was when she was talking to Chase on the phone and forgot to run up the sale on the till for practically an entire dining room. Somehow she doubted the reference she would get from him would exactly convince Kendall to take her on full-time. She just hoped that if she got a few shifts in, and was able to keep her concentration, that she could convince her on the merit of her own work.

"Alright, now where is the clocking in machine?" She asked herself, looking around in the employee areas. There was no one else around to ask, she still didn't know exactly where Kendall had gone to work. She tried her office, but it was empty. She looked right throughout the whole museum, but she couldn't find where she was meant to clock out, so that Kendall wouldn't think she just left without letting anyone know.

She went to the loading area, thinking that maybe it was there. Most of the employees entered and left through the rear entrance, but she still couldn't find any sign of it.

"Great, now I have to wait on someone coming back." She muttered. As she was about to leave, she saw the T-Rex head that she'd seen earlier. She still remembered seeing something moving in it, and hearing what sounded like something slamming, right when Chase and the others just...disappeared.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she went over, inspecting it. She presumed it was some kind of display, but she had no idea why it was here in the loading area instead of...well...somewhere in a public area where one of the museum visitors might actually see it.

It didn't look damaged in any way, so it wasn't as if it was here for repair, and it wasn't in a crate or anything, so it didn't look like they intended it to go anywhere.

"This thing is kind of cool." She commented, looking around it. It was very detailed, something she didn't doubt given Kendall's obsessive attention to detail.

She looked around, checking no one was around, and got a little smirk on her face, before climbing up, into the mouth. She braced her hands against the top of it, and pretended it was trying to eat her, screaming and struggling. She just sighed, sitting in its mouth.

"Now I just wish someone was here to take a picture." She commented, resting her back against the rear of the mouth. She looked a little surprised to hear it sounded hollow, and almost like it was made of...steel?

"OK, that's weird." She remarked, inspecting it. "I thought this thing was fibreglass."

She pressed her hands against the back, confirming it was indeed steel, but as she turned around, her foot caught one of the teeth, and heard a clunk, at which the back fell inwards.

She squealed as she tumbled downwards, uncertain what exactly had happened. She bumped and rolled around on the slide, eventually falling outwards onto a hard stone floor, landing with a thud. She just stroked the back of her head. As she got up, dusting herself off, she looked around and marvelled at the Dino Lab. She had no idea what any of this stuff was, it looked way beyond her technological understanding though.

"This is so cool!" She remarked, beginning to take a look around. She inspected the many computers and devices, wondering exactly what this stuff was. She didn't claim to be an expert, but from what little she did know about palaeontology, she was under the impression it was all spades and brushes and dusty old books. This looked more like something out of Star Trek!

She went to a screen, and was amazed to see the Rangers on it, locked in a deadly battle.

Just as she was enthralled in the battle, wondering what she had fallen into, she heard a cough behind her. She turned slowly to see Kendall standing there, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at her. Allison could tell she was far from happy to see her.

"So...I'm guessing this isn't the employee lounge?" She offered weakly.

Back at the site of the battle, Chase hit the ground, and rolled back to his feet, clutching his Para Chopper tightly. The battle wasn't going well; Riley and Koda were still reeling from their failed attempt to activate the Dino X Armour.

"This isn't working; the guys are running out of time." Chase stated. "I need to figure out what's wrong."

"Chase..." He heard his communicator saying in a weak voice. He pulled it out, seeing Shelby on the screen.

"Shelby, hold on, we're still..."

"Chase, our air...it's almost all gone." She told him.

"It can't end this way, it just can't!" Chase called out. "What did I do...?"

That was when he got to thinking, looking to Shelby. He could remember the night of the storm.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, that news once again, due to storm damage the N-Zed Boys management have announced that they will unfortunately have to move the concert to the Reynold's theatre. Unfortunately since this is a smaller venue, the concert is now officially sold out!" The announcer stated. Shelby let out a little scream of disappointment hearing this. "We do still have a competition for some backstage passes..."_

" _NO!" Shelby complained. "They're sold out? This was my only chance to see them while they were touring America!"_

" _Come on Shelby, you aren't going to be missing out on anything." Chase told her. Shelby looked to him, but instead of lashing back, she just seemed to succumb to her disappointment._

" _I know you think they're lame." Shelby answered. "I get it."_

 _With that, she left the room._

" _Shelby!" Tyler called after her. "Nice going man."_

" _What? She isn't going to be missing anything! You can trust me on that!" Chase answered._

" _For the last time, not everyone has to like what you do Chase." Tyler replied, looking more than a little angry with the Black Ranger. "She was really looking forward to that concert. I think you've hurt her feelings."_

He could remember that Shelby wasn't her usual self when he teased her. She didn't answer him back or throw some kind of insult his way. She didn't even throw a punch to the arm. She was just...sad, defeated. It was then he had realised there was a reason she didn't retaliate as she always did. She wasn't angry, she was actually hurt. She was clearly looking forward to the concert, and when she missed out, Chase had been...he'd been a colossal jerk to her.

"Shelby, I'm sorry." He rushed out to her. "I should never have teased you about that concert."

"Chase, it's..."

"It's not alright!" Chase told her. "I didn't realise how important it was to you. I hurt your feelings, and because of that...now I can't save you. I threw my energy out of synch, and now, you're the ones that might pay the price."

"Chase, it's alright." She answered.

"No, it isn't." Chase replied. "And it won't be until I make it right!"

He stood up to his full height, taking his morpher in his hand, and preparing the Dino Armour X Charger. Fury saw this and started laughing.

"This again?" He asked him. "Are you really so lacking in ideas?"

"Try asking that again once I'm kicking your arse!" Chase replied. "Dino Armour X Charger, ACTIVATE!"

Chase felt the power surging through him, but this time, it encompassed and empowered him, lending him his strength. He knew he had done wrong, but he was determined to do anything to make it right, no matter what it meant for him. Fury and his cronies all looked to Chase, seeing him encased in his new armour, staring them down.

"So are you getting out my way?" Chase asked them. "Or do I go through you too?"


	10. Chase Makes Ammends

In the Dino Lab, Kendall was watching the monitors, and keeping track of the readings as she normally did. To say the battle was going badly was an understatement. The team was already down three Rangers, and given the readings it didn't look like it was going to be long before the air in the air pocket would be completely unbreathable. Once that happened, it would only take a couple of breaths before...she didn't even want to think about it.

"Ms Morgan, is this REALLY necessary?" Allison whined, rattling some handcuffs. Kendall had important work to do, so once she had discovered Allison having inadvertently stumbled into the Dino Lab, she really didn't have time to stand and explain things. She couldn't risk Allison telling anyone what she had seen, but right now that was a problem that could wait. She had wrapped Allison's arms around a steel support to one of the work benches that was bolted into the floor and handcuffed her hands together.

Kendall wasn't really paying too much attention to her. She was too busy working on what she was seeing from the field. In the latest turn though, they had a major moment of hope. The energy readings had gone wild, and in a burst of light, Chase had once again managed to summon his Dino X Armour.

"Ms Morgan..."

"Would you be quiet? I'm working here!" Kendall yelled at her. "Chase, you did it! You finally..."

"Wait, CHASE?" Allison asked. Kendall just groaned loudly. It was pretty much pointless to try and come up with excuses now. She just turned to her.

"Yes, he's out there, and so are the others." Kendall snapped at her. "Now, since Shelby, Tyler and Ivan have approximately...two and a half minutes to live, would you shut up and let me work?"

Allison made a key-to-lips gesture and sat back quietly. Kendall turned back to the monitor.

"Chase, the air in that pocket will run out in just over two minutes." Kendall told him. "Whatever you plan on doing, do it quickly!"

Chase didn't answer though, all she heard were sounds of battle. She just stared at the screen.

"Come on Chase, you can do it." She begged him, grabbing her key necklace and gripping it like her life depended on it. There was now officially nothing she could do to help. It was all up to Chase. She heard a little cough.

"Ms Morgan?" Allison asked. "Why do you even own handcuffs?"

Kendall just sighed and turned towards her.

"I can't believe God made two of you." She muttered as she turned her attention back to the monitors.

Back at the site of the battle, Fury, Wrench and Gold Digger just stared at Chase, standing before them in his new armour.

"So are you getting out my way?" Chase asked them. "Or do I go through you too?"

"What is that?" Gold Digger asked.

"Their new weapon!" Fury responded. "So he finally got it to work!"

"That's his big weapon?" Wrench scoffed. "So he has a little more armour and some fancy gauntlets. Big deal! It looks like that blonde friend of his is running short on ideas! I've made more spectacular weapons after eating spicy food!"

He stepped forward, grabbing his axe in a back-handed grip.

"Here, I'll take care of this!" He called out, sending his axe spinning towards Chase. The Black Ranger swiped with one of his claws, batting it out the air, looking about as worried as if Wrench had thrown a big, fluffy pillow at him. The axe hit the ground a little way off, the energy channelled into it scorching the ground for several feet in all directions.

"WHAT?" Wrench screamed. "But...but..."

Chase didn't wait for him to say anything else, he ran forward, bringing a claw down onto his right shoulder, at which it tore through his armoured form like crepe paper. Wrench screamed out and could only watch as his arm was ripped straight off his body. Chase kicked him so hard he flew twenty feet, hitting a redwood and spinning to the ground.

Gold Digger threw some coins at Chase, who held his claws up in a guard, and ran through them as they sparked and exploded uselessly off him, as effective as party poppers. Gold Digger hurriedly tried to get a slab up, but Chase had already hit him with a Spiral Attack, smashing through him and leaving him lying. He rounded on Fury, who stood between him and the slabs trapping his friends. Fury held up his sword.

"You still have to go through me!" Fury warned him. Chase ran for him, swinging with a fierce cry, and one of his claws smashed straight through Fury's sword, shattering it into pieces. With an uppercut with the other, Fury disappeared into the distance.

"Chase, they only have thirty seconds of oxygen left!" Kendall warned him.

"Just give me ten!" Chase told her, planting his claws against the slabs. "SPIRAL DRILL!"

He straightened up, spinning with incredible speed, and started to carve into the slabs, heading downwards. The slabs, which had resisted everything else started to break up under the assault.

"Hold on guys, I'm coming!" Chase rushed out.

In the air pocket, the three trapped Rangers had taken to breathing as little as possible, and even taking turns, but it had only bought them a little time. The air was already so thin and bitter, and they all weakened, Shelby doubted it would be long.

"Tyler." She whispered.

"We agreed..."

"I don't think it matters much anymore." She whispered. "Tyler, I just want you to know...I lo..."

Just then though, they heard a tremendous noise, and dirt started to fall in on them. Dirt that was soon followed by stone. They barely had time to see what came in, as they were soon all grabbed, and found themselves being launched out of the hole. They landed in an ungainly way as they hit the ground, and took huge gasps, finally able to fill their lungs with fresh, clean air.

"Oh my gosh, Shelby!" Chase rushed out as he went to her side. He lifted her up, cradling her. "This is all my fault, being unable to save you earlier...can you ever forgive me?"

Shelby looked up to him and smiled weakly.

"I already have." She told him. Just then, he heard some movement a little way off. Koda and Riley were quickly by Chase's side as Fury, Wrench and Gold Digger came back into view.

"You three rest up, join us when you can." Chase told them with authority. "You almost killed our friends! Run now or I swear I'm going to bury you!"

"The three of us will..."

"You uh...might want to do a re-count." Riley said, pointing behind Gold Digger. He turned around, seeing Fury and Wrench disappearing into the distance. He turned back, holding up one of his slabs in a desperate last gambit.

"Stay back!" He warned them. "I'm warning you..."

"SPIRAL ATTACK!" Chase called out as he launched himself at Gold Digger, ploughing straight through him. He landed on the other side, just as Gold Digger exploded.

"Take THAT to the bank, moneybags!" He remarked as he stood back up. He looked to Tyler, who just nodded to indicate it was alright. "Thanks man. Monster, extinct!"

Over in San Francisco, Carl came into the changing room, finding Jack looking into a mirror. He was still mostly covered in blood, but having cleaned up enough to be able to see his injuries. One of them was a gash just above his right brow. Carl just sighed as he saw him fixing it with a dab of superglue.

"I hate it when you do that Jack." Carl commented. "You know, hospitals use stitches."

"Hospitals cost money." Jack replied. "Besides, it's just a small cut; they'd just charge me through the nose for something I can do myself."

"Yourself?" Carl asked, seeing him trying and failing to reach to the cut on the back of his head from the first chair shot. Jack handed him the superglue. Carl wasn't keen on this, but he dutifully helped out his friend, knowing he wasn't going to a hospital. If Jack's mind was made up, there was little anyone could do to convince him.

"The crowd seemed really into it." Jack stated. "They got some pretty good heat out there."

"They're getting pretty good heat in the back too." Carl chuckled. "You should see them, the way they're strutting around bragging about having the spot of the night. You'd think they were the main event, not a couple of clumsy dumbasses that bludgeoned you half to death."

"Carl, if I wanted to be nagged, I'd have gotten married." Jack replied. "So, when do I try for revenge?"

"They're in a tag match in Long Beach in a couple of days." Carl told him. "You have to jump the guard rail and attack them; they're set to leave you lying."

"That should get everyone nice and hot for the Amber Beach show when I reveal my partner...um..."

He struggled for a moment.

"You know...the kid with the wild hair and the thing about wearing shoes."

"Koda." Carl reminded him. "Yeah, that should be a good one alright. Koda's been practicing like crazy. I just hope he's ready for that pair of asshats."

"He's a strong kid, he'll hold his own if they stiff him." Jack told him. "I'll give him some pointers too. He'll be fine."

"OK, clean yourself up and get dressed." Carl said with a smile. "I'll get you to the airport."

"Carl." Jack said, calling him back. Carl just looked to him. "We want as much heat as possible...they did remember to use the chairs right?"

Carl just stared at him. He had been bludgeoned senselessly with them, taking at least half a dozen shots. He'd been split open on the front and back of his head. Carl just nodded.

"Yes Jack, you used the chairs." He assured him. "Don't take too long, the flight's in an hour."

Up on Sledge's prison ship, Fury and Wrench arrived back, and were sneaking around, wary of running into any guards.

"This is stupid Wrench; he'll look for you in your lab!" Fury stated.

"That's easy for you to say, you still HAVE two arms!" He whined. "Stupid blonde human, first she defuses my bomb, then her weapon costs me an arm!"

"Will you quit whining about the museum curator?" Fury asked as they got into the lab. "Just grab what you need and let's get out of here."

"I'm making a new arm! I can't exactly do that with pipe-cleaners and sticky-back-plastic!" Wrench said in disgust. "Now, I just need to find the right..."

They both stopped stock-still as they heard an applause from behind them. They turned slowly, only to see Sledge stepping out from behind some equipment. They both froze in terror.

"You're hard to find." He said in a low, menacing voice. As they started to tremble, Sledge came forward, gripping his blaster tightly. "One might almost think you've been...avoiding me."

"No sir!" Wrench snivelled. "We just...didn't want to disturb you!"

"Instead you just want to use my monsters for your own little missions." Sledge said as he continued to advance. They both started to back into the wall. "You do realise what the bounty on Gold Digger was right?"

They both hit the wall, being unable to go any further. Sledge was standing right up, nose-to-nose with them.

"His planet was burned up in a Supernova three million years ago." Sledge informed them. "He was worthless, but his power, and your plan...they gained impressive results."

"Sledge?" Fury asked, looking confused.

"Perhaps if you'd had adequate support instead of sneaking around on your own afraid of reprisals for past events, things might have been different." He continued as Poisandra came up to him and draped herself over his shoulder. "My love here has shown me that perhaps I need to consider which assets are of value, and which are expendable. For all your failings, you are both still strong warriors."

He looked to Wrench.

"Build yourself an arm, then get him a new sword." He told them. "When you're both ready, report to the bridge. We have a lot more work to do to catch up to the Rangers."

As he left the room, they both looked to each other, and then to Poisandra.

"I wouldn't keep my Sledgeums waiting if I were you." She stated. "By the way, you're welcome."

"YOU saved us?" Fury growled. "Why?"

"Oh, even I'm not crazy enough to not see you're both still of some use." She told them matter-of-factly. "Oh, and of course, now you BOTH owe me one. Toodle pip!"

As she skipped away, Fury face-palmed.

"I think I'd have preferred to be destroyed than be in her debt." He grumbled.

"Speak for yourself." Wrench replied angrily, grabbing some parts. "Now the sooner you help me build an arm, the sooner you get a new sword!"

Back at the museum, the Rangers arrived to find some amazing smells coming from the cafe, and the lights still on. All of them were extremely tired after the events of the last couple of days, and just wanted to go home to bed, but the smell of fried onions and beef made all of them sharply aware of how hungry they all were.

"Allison, you are a legend!" Chase said with a smile as they all ran into the restaurant. When they got there though, they found, unusually, that Allison was sitting at a table, and Kendall was in the kitchen.

"Uh...hi!" Allison said weakly. "I would wave, but...uh..."

They all looked under the table, seeing that her hands were handcuffed to the table leg. They all looked to Kendall.

"Ms Morgan?" Shelby asked. "What's with the handcuffs?"

"I found Allison wandering around somewhere she shouldn't." Kendall told them. "So we all have a little something to discuss."

"You mean she...?" Chase started to ask. "So you saw...?"

"For what it's worth...the spandex is kind of flattering." She answered. The others all looked among each other, and then to her.

"So how much do you know?" Tyler asked her.

"Um...I know about the lab under the museum...and that you guys are the Rangers." Allison stated. "Ms Morgan hasn't really explained too much else, other than the fact she can't risk me telling anyone."

"This is your solution?" Chase asked, pointing to the handcuffs.

"It was a temporary measure." Kendall assured him, putting down a tray of food and unlocking the handcuffs. "Now we have to discuss what we do about this."

"What options do we have?" Riley asked. "Allison, its important all this is kept a secret. You can't tell anyone..."

"That is one option." Kendall told them, looking to Allison. "I DO however have other options."

"She's got that scary look in her eyes." Tyler whispered to Shelby. The Pink Ranger just nodded in agreement.

"You...you don't need to threaten me. I think it's really cool what you guys do!" Allison assured them. "It was annoying as hell that you all ran out and left me to work myself, but now that I know what you were doing...it's not like I can be angry! It's not like you went bowling or anything is it?"

She looked to Chase.

"I swear, I won't tell anyone about this, no matter what happens to me." She assured him. "I've...I've been kind of a screw up at times. I know I've not been the most attentive at work, but that was because I felt like what I was doing wasn't important. Who cares if some guy gets chorizo on a pizza instead of pepperoni?"

"The customer?" Tyler asked, earning an elbow in the ribs from Shelby.

"The point is, I didn't feel like anything I did, even my mistakes didn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things." She carried on, ignoring Tyler. "If keeping this secret, keeping this place running while you're off doing what you're doing is what I can do to help save the world, I'm all for it!"

She then looked to Kendall.

"Please Ms Morgan, I don't doubt you have other ideas in mind, but please, believe me, I want to be a part of this." Allison assured her. "I'll do all the shifts you want and I won't complain! I'll do anything..."

Kendall couldn't hear what else she was saying, it was tuned out. All she heard in her mind was Keeper's voice.

"I can sense her heart, and she is genuine in her conviction." Keeper told her. "I believe she can be trusted, but the decision is ultimately yours."

"Damn I hate when you do stuff like that." Kendall stated.

"Stuff like what?" Allison asked her. Kendall just sighed.

"No more turning up late, no more wandering around places you're not meant to, and no questions you shouldn't be asking. If there's something you need to know, we'll tell you." Kendall put down flatly. "Is that understood?"

Allison just nodded her head.

"Then, I suppose...you have that full time job." Kendall responded. Everyone started to head around to Allison, welcoming her to the group. Tyler looked to Shelby.

"Why do I get the feeling we don't want to know what Ms Morgan's 'options' were if she couldn't trust Allison?" He asked her.

"Why do I get the feeling we don't want to know why she owns handcuffs?" Shelby asked him. Tyler's face just fell.

"I went to a really scary visual place." He informed her.

"I say we don't bring this up again." Shelby rushed out.

"Definitely!" Tyler agreed. As they all started to dig into their food, welcoming the newest member of the team, Shelby sank into the couch.

"You know, right now I'm glad I didn't get to go to that concert." She told the others. "This is SO much better."

"You don't have to spare my feelings." Chase told her. "I know I was a colossal arse."

"I'm serious, all my friends are here, and I am SOOOO beat." She continued. "I don't know if I'd even enjoy..."

There was a loud pounding at the door, interrupting her. They all looked around.

"Can't they read the sign?" Riley asked. "WE'RE CLOSED GENIUS!"

There was another pounding.

"It sounds like they're not getting the message." Chase said. "Shelby, you're closest, can you answer that?"

"REALLY?" She asked, looking to Chase, who just smirked. She rolled her eyes. "You do know I was buried alive for most of the day right?"

She got up and stormed out to the front doors. She turned the key in the lock.

"Listen jackass, the sign quite clearly says we're..." Her words left her as quickly as her breath as she looked up. She tried to speak, but only an unintelligible squeak came out.

"This is Dino Bite isn't it?" One of them asked in a strong New Zealand accent. Shelby nodded wordlessly. "I told you this was the place."

"Y...y...y..."

"She's a talkative one isn't she?" Another asked in that same accent. The others started to come through.

"Shelby, what's going...?" Tyler's words tailed off as he saw them. "Wait, you guys, you're the N-Zed Boys!"

The boyband entered as Shelby just moved aside, still completely struck dumb by seeing them.

"Look, we know you're closed but can you do us a favour?" One of them asked. "We have kind of a tradition, before every concert we go out for burgers."

"We asked the concierge at our hotel and he said the best burgers in town were the Bronto Burgers from here." Another stated.

"We...we..."

"Is she always so talkative?" One of them asked.

"She's a huge fan." Chase told them. "She's disappointed she couldn't get a ticket for the show tonight."

"Well, we can't have a fan missing out can we?" One of them said, looking to his band mates. "Tell you what, you hook us up with five Bronto Burgers with the works, and all of you get to come as our special guests!"

Shelby let out a delighted squeal and ran immediately for the kitchen. Koda looked to them.

"Cafe this way." He told them. "Come."

As they filed out, taking the band with them, Allison put a hand on Chase's chest, beckoning him to stay. He held back with her as they left.

"That was a really nice thing you did." She told him. Chase just furrowed his brows.

"I don't know what..."

"There is such a thing as google you know." Allison told him, pulling something up on her phone. "There's also such a thing as Youtube."

Chase just gulped as he saw the footage. It was an early performance of the N-Zed Boys, before they hit the big time, in a mall in Wellington. There, front and centre as they performed their dance routine was Chase.

"How did you...?"

"It occurred to me you knew an awful lot about them for a band you claimed to hate." She reminded him. "And after a quick Google search, I found out that they might be a five-piece now, but there were originally SIX members of the band. The one that left was named Chase Randall."

Chase sighed and looked to her.

"I still felt like I owed Shelby for what happened, so I gave Kieran a call." He told her, confirming the detail. He had indeed been a member of the boyband before they were signed, but fate took a different turn for him when he found his Energem. He'd left before they hit the big time. "If you tell anyone about this..."

"Don't worry; BOTH your secrets are safe with me." She assured him, pulling him in for a long, passionate kiss.


	11. Stumbling Blocks

Margaret was wrenched somewhat unceremoniously from her sleep as she heard power tools. She pulled herself up out of her bed, pulling the Beretta she normally kept there to bear. In a single motion she not only got to her feet, but pulled back the slide, chambering the first round and flicked off the safety on the gun.

She crept to the door of the room, taking the gun in a firm grip. She pulled the door open and swung into the hall, finding a somewhat terrified tradesman standing before her.

"Whoa..."

"Who the hell are you?" Margaret asked him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm Trevor? The carpenter?" He asked her. She just stared blankly at him. "You know...for the re-fit?"

Just then, he heard more noise of works going on. She knew Phillipe wanted to turn this place into a Zandrian Embassy, and she knew a lot of work needed to be done to make that happen. What she didn't know was he had apparently already scheduled some of that work. Margaret lowered her pistol to a safe direction.

"Where's the Prince?" She asked him.

"He said he was going to be using that room as his main office." Trevor told her. Margaret just walked to the door, throwing it open. Inside, she found Phillipe with a few people, looking over some plans. This room was already virtually transformed, being lined with carved, wood panelling, and with the Zandarian coat of arms on the wall. Some guys were treating the wood to artificially age it and make it look antique.

"Alright, so I want the wood panelling in these rooms here, here and here." He told the man before him. "For the rest of the rooms, I think the eggshell would be a nice colour..."

"Phillipe?" Margaret called out. "What the HELL?"

"Could you all give us a minute?" Phillipe asked, gesturing to the men to leave the room. He could see that Margaret was still in her pyjamas and hadn't applied make up or fixe her hair. It was clear she had only just woken up, meaning that she had likely been woken by the work being done on the building. "Margaret, as you know this old place needs a fair bit of work done to it..."

"It's eight in the bloody morning!" She yelled at him. "How the hell do you even get a tradesman to begin work that early?"

"You forget, I do have black AMEX card." He chuckled. "It turns out that can be quite an incentive."

"You know, I am your head of security right?" She asked him. "Letting a whole bunch of people into the building while I'm asleep, buying this building, going places and not telling me...you are aware that does make my job kind of redundant right?"

"Relax Margaret, you worry too much." He chuckled. Just then, a guy came in.

"Prince Phillipe, there's a UPS guy at the door with a delivery from the customs office." He told them. Phillipe and Margaret just looked to each other, this was what they had been waiting for!

"Send him in right now! I don't want anyone within a hundred feet of this room!"

He just nodded and left the room. The Prince was a little eccentric in his demands, but for the rates he was paying, none of the tradesmen really cared if he was completely batshit or not. A little while later, the UPS guy and a couple of tradesmen brought in a crate.

"Set it down on the desk there!" Phillipe said, gesturing wildly. He hurriedly scribbled a signature on his I-pad. "Everyone out...not you Margaret! Everyone else, leave us!"

S they finally cleared the room, Phillipe took a pry bar and opened the crate. He stared into it, seeing the skull of a dinosaur inside! His men had dug it up in Zandar weeks ago, but it had been held up in customs for all this time. He lifted the skull out and put it on the desk.

"Phillipe, neither of us really know how this works." She reminded him.

"Margaret, you really do worry too much." He told her, using a chisel to separate the mandible from the rest of the skull. He flipped it open to see a glowing crystal lodged in a recess in the upper part of its mouth and smiled.

"Phillipe, you know what happened to..."

"That's what hospitals are for Margaret." He said half-jokingly. Margaret just rolled her eyes. Phillipe made her job so frustratingly difficult at times. It was bad enough he dropped off the grid and decided to train to hope to become a Ranger, but now he actually had an Energem...she could all but see her career slipping through her fingers as he pried it out with the chisel.

Phillipe's heart was jumping in his chest as he pried the Energem loose. This was what he had worked so hard for! This was his every dream! He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the backlash as he grabbed the Energem. He covered his eyes and turned away, but to his surprise...nothing happened! He'd heard the stories from Kendall about how the Pink Energem aggressively rejected her. He let out a relieved little laugh as he looked to it.

"Well, I didn't end up in an Emergency Room." He said in a somewhat relieved chuckle. "I suppose this means this IS meant for me."

"Alright, you've got the gem, let's not push your luck!" Margaret warned him.

"Where's the fun in that?" He asked, holding it out in front of him. "UNLEASH THE POWER!"

He stood for almost a full minute, his arm outstretched...and precisely nothing happened! There was no energy, no flash of light...nothing!

"Phillipe..."

"UNLEASH THE POWER!" He reiterated, but again, nothing happened. Margaret pulled the magazine out of her gun, cleared the chamber and put the safety back on as she came to his side. "I...I don't...I don't understand."

"You're talking about magical stones, I don't think ANYONE understands anything about them." She assured him.

"I've...I've worked so hard, I've done everything I can to be prepared." He said as he sat on a couch, completely deflated by this turn of events. "I was sure I had done enough."

"You're a good man Phillipe, I know that more than most." She reassured him. "I've known you since both of us were in diapers. There isn't anyone I know that I'd think would make a better Ranger, but...maybe this just isn't a choice that's up to you."

"I want to know what I did wrong!" Phillipe answered. "I must speak with someone who has an Energem, I must understand how they work."

He gathered up his jacket and looked to her.

"I'm in the mood for some burgers." He told her. "What do you say?"

"Give me ten minutes." She sighed as she headed back to her room.

Over in the museum, Allison was setting up the restaurant. It was irritating that she had to do it herself, but now that she knew the Rangers' secret, it was a lot easier. She knew it wasn't like they were sitting on their asses doing nothing and leaving her all the work.

"Thirty one." She muttered as she took a ketchup bottle off the neck of another. "I feel like I'm doing more marriages than the Pope."

Due to the nature of how condiments were often left out, bottles of condiments ran out at different times depending on how much customers seasoned their food. To maximise their profit margin, restaurants would turn one bottle that was nearly empty upside down over another bottle that had some in it. This was known as "marrying" the bottles. It was a tedious, but necessary task. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Kendall there.

"Ms Morgan!" She rushed out. "Um...I wasn't complaining..."

"I would be surprise if you weren't marrying bottles is boring as hell." She told her. "But I was going to ask you to do me a favour."

"Do I want to know?" She asked, remembering that not too long ago Kendall had literally handcuffed her to the furniture to keep her there. Kendall smiled.

"Believe me, you're going to like this. I've arranged a little surprise for Chase." She stated. Allison looked curious.

"What kind of surprise?" Allison asked. Kendall handed her a set of keys.

"As part of our natural history exhibit, I've arranged for demonstrations of tribal heritage...including the Maori." She explained. "It's so ingrained in their culture that most of the schools teach them about their culture."

"Um...OK?" Allison replied.

"Chase has been away from home for over a year and a half." Kendall told her. "I've pulled a few strings and called in some favours...one of the things I wanted to do was have some New Zealanders perform a Kapo Haka. The kids I have in mind just HAPPEN to be from the same school Chase's sister is attending."

"You're shitting me!" Allison gasped. "YOU MEAN...?"

"Try to keep it quiet, I want it to be a surprise." Kendall told her. "The plane lands in an hour, there's a minibus out front..."

"You're a legend Ms Morgan!" Allison said, almost knocking Kendall off her feet as she tackle-hugged her. "You're the best!"

With that, Allison ran out of the restaurant. Kendall just shook her head.

"I don't even want to know how Chase will react." She muttered as she straightened out her suit.

Meanwhile, over in Long Beach, Jack and Carl arrived at the arena. Jack just looked around.

"It's a lot bigger than I remember." He commented. Jack had been in the business so long, he'd wrestle everywhere from bingo halls with an audience in the low double-figures to the Tokyo Dome in Japan.

"Hey, good to see you Jack." The local promoter stated. "Glad to have you, even if you aren't advertised."

"You can't exactly advertise a run-in." Jack reminded him. "So where do you want me?"

The promoter handed him a ticket.

"Seat 11B." He told him. "Oh, and so people don't notice you, wear this."

He handed Jack a hoodie top and a ball cap. He just looked to them, seeing the logo.

"The Wolves?" He asked, noting the design. Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards were widely considered one of the top tag teams on the planet. He just nodded. "I guess I can work with that."

"You sit in that seat, and then when you get the cue, that's when you hit the ring." The promoter told him. "Security already know all about it, no one will get in your way, so if anyone does..."

"Kid, I used to work the carneys, if someone gets in my way I'm not expecting, they'll get dropped." Jack assured him, pulling on the hoodie. He put the cap on his head and pulled up the hood hiding as much of his face and head as possible. "Where's my seat?"

"Over there." The promoter told him. Jack went to his seat and sat down, pulling out a hip flask. He popped a couple of pills into his mouth and washed the down with some scotch as he waited for the show to begin.

Over in Amber Beach Park, Alessandra was stretching out, ready to begin her workout. She had arranged to meet Koda as part of their promise to train together to be ready for the show. She wasn't aware that a little way off, Koda and Chase were hiding behind some bushes.

Koda was wearing a tuxedo that Chase had lent him. He had, despite a lot of cursing and protesting, had his hair washed and brushed, styled into a simple ponytail. The caveman had no idea what any of this was meant to accomplish, but Chase did know more about these things than he did.

"Koda, stop fidgeting." Chase told him.

"Can't help it, feel...itchy." He grumbled, fingering his collar. "Not like..."

"Koda, you look a million bucks like this." Chase assured him. Chase looked to his shoes.

"Not like these, they really...squish toes, very much pain!" Koda told him.

"Look at that girl, right there." Chase told him, pointing to Alessandra. "Don't you think a couple of minutes of pain would be worth it for her?"

Koda just nodded.

"Fine, now, remember what I taught you." Chase told him. "Good luck big guy!"

Koda made his way out into view, approaching Alessandra as she stretched out. She looked up as a shadow informed her someone was standing before her. She looked up, seeing a suit...and could hardly believe her eyes when she saw the face...it was Koda.

"Koda?" She asked, looking more than a little confused.

"Hey there...uh..." Koda looked to the notes written on his hand. "Baby. These for you!"

He presented Cassandra with a box of chocolates. She just looked even more confused.

"Koda...why you...?"

"Also have these!" He said, thrusting some flowers towards her. Alessandra took one look at them, before starting to sneeze uncontrollably. Koda threw both gifts aside as he went to her.

"What wrong?" He asked her.

"I have hayfever, allergic to pollen." She told him between sneezes so strong they almost took her off her feet.

"I sorry, not know!" He rushed out.

"Koda, why you dress like that?" Alessandra asked him. "We meet to train."

Koda hurriedly looked to his other hand where some more notes were written.

"Why train? We have more fun somewhere else. What you say babe?" He said reading it out. Alessandra blinked a few times, looking more than a little confused...before the worst thing in the world happened. She started laughing!

Koda backed away as he saw her laughing, this was everything he dreaded. He knew he wanted to be closer to Alessandra, but he was always terrified that if she ever knew how he felt about her, she would not only refuse him, but would actually laugh at him. He felt himself tearing up and observed the only instinct he had left, running away.

"Koda wait!" She called after him. "KODA!"

It was too late though, the Blue Ranger was gone. Alessandra sat on a nearby bench and held her face in her hands. She didn't MEAN to hurt Koda, that was the last thing she'd ever want to do.

Over at the airport, Allison was standing at the arrivals gate, holding up a sign with the name of the school Chase's sister attended. Even though the museum was backed by Anton Mercer, a guy that regularly feature on the Fortune 500 list, she was well aware how much time, effort and expense had to be put into flying an entire class of school kids from New Zealand to the United States. It was no small thing, but given what Chase had already done for them for over a year and a half, they probably felt it was a small price to pay.

She saw a woman surrounded by kids and figured this was her party. She started waving her sign.

"Hi, I'm guessing you're..."

"Ms Ellington." The woman replied, shaking Allison's hand. She was only a little taller than Allison, and dressed very conservatively in a tweed suit. "I'm guessing you're our ride?"

"Allison." She introduced herself. "So, which one of you is Chloe Randall?"

"I am!" One of them yelled, bouncing around like a ping pong ball. It was easier for airlines to just give their passengers food and drink than it was to deal with them when they were bored on flights lasting hours on end. It seemed that Chloe had been given a few too many sodas!

Chloe was a small girl, barely reaching Allison's solar plexus, and even she wasn't exactly huge! She had long, dark hair that almost went all the way to her butt, and she was buzzing with energy and excitement at the prospect of being in a new country...and no doubt a dangerous combination of e-numbers and WAY too much caffeine for an 8 year old.

"I'm Allison." She told her. "I was sent to take you to the museum."

"Alright class, everyone follow Allison!" Ms Ellington told them. "Come on, we don't want anyone to get lost."

Chase finally caught up to Koda back at the museum. He found the tuxedo on the floor, having been ripped off with absolutely no care at all.

"There goes the deposit." He sighed, heading into the cave that Koda called home. Koda didn't even look at him. He was hunched over, and Chase could hear him sobbing.

"Go away!" Koda snapped.

"Koda, this isn't..."

"I SAY GO AWAY!" Koda yelled at him. "I do what you say, I give chocolates and flowers and...she laugh at me!"

"Koda, I'm really sorry..."

"I like her Chase, she...she make any day better!" Koda told him. "Now I do this...not even know if she friend!"

"Koda, I didn't mean..."

"NO, you NEVER mean!" Koda barked as he grabbed Chase and lifted him clean off the ground, ramming him against the wall. They'd only ever had one real fight, back in the beginning when Koda thought he was defending Kendall. Koda had tackled him through twin-paned bullet-proof glass without even breaking pace! He could see the look on Koa's face, the sheer rage in him, and the tears running down his face. "You never MEAN but you DO!"

"Koda.."

"Alessandra very special to me!" Koda told him. "If I lose...I never forgive."

With that, he tossed Chase onto the floor and walked away. As he fought for breath, Chase knew better than to follow him.


	12. Some GOOD Advice

The airport shuttle pulled up outside the hotel that Kendall had booked for the school kids. Allison opened the door, letting the kids out. After being cooped up, first in a plane, and then in the minivan, they were eager to get out and explore. They piled out of the van, into the parking lot and immediately started running around, snapping pictures of everything and nothing, and pointing and staring at all the new sights in this strange country. While most of them had been to Australia at some point or another, for the majority of them this was the furthest they had ever been from home.

"Alright, settle down kids!" Their teacher called out. Mr Bruce was a kindly looking old man, balding with white hair and a full beard. He wore half-moon glasses and a simple tweed suit. "We're all excited, but I don't want any of you running off and getting into any trouble."

"But we want to see..."

"You'll get plenty of time to do some sightseeing." He assured the grumbling children. "For now, you should all get some rest. It's been a long flight, and you do have a big trip ahead of you. Oh, and I don't mean to be a bore, but do all TRY to remember you're not just representing the school, but the rest of your country too."

There were some grumbles, but the kids dutifully headed into the hotel to get checked in. Despite their excitement, they were indeed tired. Allison saw Chloe standing around, and went to her.

"Don't worry the museum's not going anywhere. Chase will still be there later on." She assured her.

"But I want to see Chase!" She whined. "It's been so long and..."

"When you do see him, wouldn't you rather you were well rested so that you can spend time having fun with him?" Allison asked her. She pulled a scrap of paper out of her pocket and started scribbling down her cell phone number. "Tell you what, why don't you give me a call when your teacher's about to bring you to the museum, and I can make sure I keep Chase busy away from the entrance. That way, we can really surprise him when he sees you!"

Chloe didn't look too sure; she had already spent a year and a half with only E-mail and Skype to keep in touch with Chase. Now she was in the same city as him, all she wanted to do was rush over, to get a huge hug from the big brother she idolised and talk his ears off about everything that had happened at home in the time they'd been apart.

"Just imagine how excited he'll be when he sees you just turn up out of the blue." Allison said with a bright smile. "Doesn't that sound like a much better reunion than a quick hug straight off an international flight after which you have to get back to your bed?"

"I guess so." Chloe agreed. "So, you can really keep Chase distracted? I love my brother, but he has the attention span of a goldfish."

"I think I can just about manage." Allison chuckled. "You have a good night's sleep kid."

As Chloe went with the others to get her room assigned, Allison went back to the minibus to head back to the museum. She knew how much Chase loved his sister, and how much he missed his family. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he saw Chloe the following day.

Back at the museum, Kendall was in the back, working with a skeleton. It was a Pachysaurus, one they had received some time ago from an anonymous source. They had kept it in storage because while it was ALMOST complete, the one thing that was missing, for some unknown reason, was the head. It was kind of an important piece for the purposes of display. While the museum was more than used to receiving incomplete skeletons and filling in the missing parts with plaster replacements, making up a convincing skull was very different from a simple rib or vertebrae. It took a long time to make up a suitable piece to complete the skeleton to a standard that Kendall was happy to put on display, but she'd received word that work was almost complete. That left her to get the parts out of storage and begin to catalogue them, so they would know how to put it all back together.

"Rear left femur." She said, looking into a crate and inspecting one of the bones, noting it down, and assigning it a number, before putting the same number on the side of the crate and closing it up again. As she was moving along, she noticed Chase sitting on one of the crates. She just sighed.

"Chase, do you mind?" She asked. "I need to get into that one."

"Oh, sorry." He mumbled, before moving off the crate, allowing Kendall to open it. She found some vertebrae inside, and started to catalogue them. She didn't get too far into it, before she was aware of the fact Chase was still there.

"Aren't you meant to be working?" She asked him. Chase didn't say anything. He just sat on another crate, looking thoroughly miserable. Kendall kept working for a moment; before Chase's miserable sighs and expression finally distracted her so much she almost mistakenly mislabelled the C8 as the C7. She just slammed down her clipboard.

"Alright then, what is it?" She asked him. Chase just looked to her.

"I had a big fight with Koda." He informed her. She just shook her head.

"Is that all?" She responded. "Koda doesn't hold grudges. You'll be best friends again before the shift is over."

"I'm not so sure this time. I think I really messed up." He told her.

"OK, I'm going to need some more information." Kendall replied, realising she wasn't going to be getting any work done while Chase was moping around. "What happened?"

"I found out that Koda really likes Alessandra." Chase told her. "He didn't know how to ask her out, so...I kind of thought I'd give him some pointers."

"You gave him some advice?" Kendall asked him, trying not to sound too sarcastic. Fortunately Chase didn't seem to notice. "What happened?"

"I...took him to her; he said they were meeting in the park." Chase relayed the story. "I got him a tux, got his hair looking good, we got some chocolates and flowers from that fancy place a couple of blocks away..."

"Seriously, Koda let you do all that?" She asked in response, looking more than a little surprised. "You should have seen how he reacted the first time I convinced him to wear a pair of trainers! I've never seen a set of Converse fly so far! What...what happened?"

"So, I got him looking good, gave him a couple of notes on what to say..."

"Oh God!" Kendall said, face-palming. This time Chase couldn't fail to notice. Kendall's face was buried in her hands, like she was almost afraid to hear what happened next. "What happened?"

"Alessandra kind of...laughed." Chase concluded his story. "Koda just ran off before we could say anything to him."

"No wonder, he must have been humiliated!" Chase, what did you think you were doing?"

"I thought I was helping the guy!" Chase rushed out. "He doesn't know about any of this stuff! I thought maybe if I told him about romance, how girls like a lot of that..."

"Really? That's your take away from all those girls you asked out?" Kendall asked him. "How did that turn out for you? How many of them responded?"

Chase was about to answer, but then a thought hit him, and with it, his heart ran cold.

"Allison was the first one that actually went out with me more than once." Chase realised as he thought about it. "Come to think of it...she kind of asked me."

"Would you have thought Allison was into all that stuff? The chocolates and flowers approach?" Kendall carried on with her questioning. Chase just smirked.

"She might like the chocolate, but the flowers would probably be in a trash can within seconds." He said thinking about her. "Besides, she's different, she's a skater girl, I'd have known she wasn't into stuff like that. Skater types tend to be more rough and tumble..."

"And Alessandra is a PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER!" Kendall reminded him. Chase just felt silent. "Chase, she makes a living letting people throw her around and doing the kind of acrobatics that have about half a dozen ways of crippling her if she botches them! Did you really think someone like that would be the slow-dancing kind of girl?"

"I...I didn't think of that..." Chase started to stammer, putting his head in his hands. "Oh my God, I am the worst friend ever! I just talked Koda into making a complete arse of himself!"

Just then, Riley came into the back.

"Uh...Ms Morgan?" He asked. "There's someone here to see you..."

"Can you just ask them to make an appointment?" She asked. "I'm in the middle of something..."

"It's Prince Phillipe." Riley informed her. "He's kind of insistent."

"I'll be right out." She told him, looking to Chase, just touching his shoulder warmly, before heading out into the restaurant. There, she saw Phillipe standing, with Margaret by his side, waiting patiently. While a few months ago, no one would have known him from Adam, he'd been in most of the local papers in Amber Beach, and even a few magazines. He was drawing more than a little attention, especially from some of the female customers!

"Prince Phillipe!" Kendall greeted him with a handshake. "This is a surprise, if it's about the exhibit, you could have just called..."

"It isn't, though I do have to admit being impressed with what you've done with it. I saw quite a few visitors heading in there." He said with a smile. "I'm afraid; it's a matter a little more...private."

"Private?" Kendall asked.

"About some certain...stones." He clarified, trying not to say too much in public. Kendall just nodded in understanding. "I was hoping to speak to Koda actually."

"Koda?" Kendall asked, looking a little confused. She was pretty much the authority on Energems on Earth...and quite possibly a significant distance beyond it. If he wanted to know anything about Energems, she was surprised he wouldn't ask her.

"I just wanted to talk to him about something in private." Phillipe told her. It had occurred to him to discuss the matter with Kendall, but right now, he didn't yet want to reveal that the Graphite Energem, which she was likely looking for as they spoke, was in his inside pocket, well within arm's reach of her! He knew that she would use it well, but a part of him was still hopeful that he could get it to bond with him. He knew waiting to give it to them was a little bit devious, but he hoped that if he bonded to it, then he could provide them with a Ranger and an active Zord in addition to a new Energem. Koda was the first human ever to bond to an Energem, and so he figured if anyone knew how to get an Energem to bond to him it would be the Blue Ranger. "Riley here told me he isn't here; I was wondering if you knew where I could find him."

Kendall looked to Riley, who just pulled in to whisper to her.

"He looked really upset when he came in, he just ran into his cave." Riley explained. Kendall just nodded. She understood completely. She looked to Phillipe.

"I'm afraid that he was...unwell." She told him. "We had to send him home."

"Unwell?" Phillipe asked. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"To be honest, I just think he needs a little time." Kendall told him. "Maybe you could come back another time?"

"I can return tomorrow, I have business in the area." He told her. "Give Koda our best would you?"

"I'll pass your message along." Kendall assured him. As they left, Margaret kept close.

"Sick?" She asked him. "Do they even get sick? I thought the Energems..."

"The point is, if he isn't here, he isn't here and something tells me that Ms Morgan isn't going to tell me where he is." Phillipe said with a sigh. "It's waited 65 million years; I doubt another day is going to matter much. In the meantime, I suppose it's back the Embassy."

Meanwhile, Allison was driving back to the Embassy, when she noticed Alessandra sitting outside a building site. She was just sitting on a bench, which seemed a little off to her. Allison had always known her to be very active, usually spending most of her days training. She started to pull up to the kerb, but as she got out, Alessandra didn't seem to notice her. It was only as she got closer, she could see the young woman was crying.

"Hey, what's happening?" Allison asked her. Alessandra just looked to her, before wiping her eyes.

"No want talk." She told her. Allison wasn't taking no for an answer though. She sat down next to her. There was nothing she hated more than to see anyone she cared about upset.

"OK, then I'm going to have to guess." Allison said as she shifted a little closer. "I'm guessing it has something to do with a big guy we both know, wears blue, doesn't like shoes?"

Alessandra didn't answer, but she didn't need to. The way she flinched as Allison described Koda told her all she needed to know. Allison put her arm around her.

"Come on, what happened?" She asked her.

"Koda...ask out." Alessandra told her. Allison couldn't contain her joy. She'd seen the way they both lit up around each other for a while, and was hopeful that they would take that step.

"Well what's the problem? Why are you crying?" Allison asked her. Alessandra just looked to her.

"I not mean laugh!" She rushed out. Allison took a deep breath.

"Alright, I think we're going to have to back up a few steps." Allison told her. "What happened when Koda asked you out?"

"We were to meet in park to run." Alessandra told her. "He show up, look...different. He wearing fancy suit. His hair...tidy."

"Wait, we are talking about the same Koda right?" Allison asked her, looking confused. "The guy should probably have a sponsorship deal with tank tops! He really showed up in a tux?"

"He have flowers, chocolates." Alessandra continued, showing her the box. Allison could see almost half of them were gone.

"Wow, someone is upset." She said with a low whistle.

"Then, he start talking really strange." Alessandra continued, recalling the incident. "He ask me out, he call me...babe. I just...laugh!"

"He called you babe?" Allison asked, beginning to put some pieces together. None of this sounded like anything that would occur to Koda to do.

"I not mean him think I laugh at him!" Alessandra started to sob again. "It just...funny! I not help laugh, but he think I laugh at him! Now he think I not like."

Alessandra just sighed.

"But do like...I like a lot." She concluded. "Have liked since he take to hospital."

"Didn't you explain to him?" Allison asked her.

"Not get chance, Koda get upset and run away!" Alessandra explained. "He run very fast, faster than me! Chase run after as well..."

"CHASE WAS THERE?" Allison yelled, before face-palming. She was already starting to put pieces together, but as soon as she heard that, everything fell into place. She could almost see the whole thing in her mind. "Alright, I think I know exactly what happened."

"I not mean hurt Koda..."

"And I think he might have had a little help getting there." Allison told her. "I think he really did want to ask you out, but he just got some really bad advice on how to do it."

"Bad advice?" Alessandra asked, before thinking about it. "From...Chase?"

"Hey, I love the guy, but he can be kind of a bone-head." Allison told her. "Koda obviously likes you, and you like him. Don't let this come between you. If you want him, maybe it's time for you to make a move."

"But...I too scared!" Alessandra shot back. Allison just glared at her.

"You're scared? A girl who regularly lets guys three times her size beat the crap out of her is scared?" Allison asked her. "Come on, I'll take you to the museum."

Alessandra just nodded, but she was still terrified. As they were about to move, a construction worker came over.

"Sorry ladies, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He said as he got to them. He had a strange accent that they couldn't quite place. "We're lowering the pavement for vehicle access..."

"Don't worry, we're going." Allison assured him. As they headed for the minivan, Alessandra looked to Allison.

"What they doing here?" She asked her. "This place not empty long time?"

"It's been empty as long as I've been here." Allison agreed. "Looking at the size of this construction crew, whatever they're doing to it, they're planning on turning it around quickly. Good thing too, that place was a real eyesore."

Late in the evening, Koda was in his cave, moping over the day's events. He couldn't stop going over what happened in his mind. He was suddenly ripped from his thoughts as he heard an alarm. It wasn't the Ranger alarm though. Kendall had spent time ensuring Koda knew the different alarms in the museum. There was the Ranger alarm, there was the fire evacuation alarm, and then there was the one that was sounding now, the break-in alarm. Someone had broken into the museum!

He grabbed his club, and got up, heading out of his cave. The museum didn't carry much cash, they did bank drops each day, but there were other items of value in there, Koda understood that much. He crept from his cave and headed into the museum.

He clutched his club tightly as he looked around for the intruder, rage burning through him. Whoever had broken in hadn't just attempted to rob the museum, they had invaded his home! After everything that happened that day, he had a lot of anger to work off. Thoughts of Alessandra being robbed started to creep into his mind too, and he could envision them being the same scumbags that had taken what few items of value she actually owned. By the time he was finished with them, he was sure they would never entertain the thought of robbing anywhere again...they would be lucky if they were walking!

He noticed the light on in the cafe, and growled. They had made a huge mistake in letting him know where they were in so brazen a manner. All his hunting instincts kicked in. He made his way to the door, lying in wait, before bursting in, running screaming into the cafe, his club raised high! He quickly stopped and dropped the club as he saw Alessandra standing there, wearing her wrestling gear.

"Alessandra!" He stammered out, looking to her. "What you do here?"

"I want talk." She told him. "I not laugh at you. I laugh because...what you say...what you wear funny."

She started to come closer, and her heart was racing, even faster than the time she had faced Mistico, one of Mexico's biggest stars! She had never been more terrified in her life.

"I l..." She was about to say something, before she looked up. Koda had removed the tux, but he had yet to let his hair out of its hair tie.

"I not like that Koda." She told him, before reaching up, pulling out his hair tie. She ruffled up his hair, messing it up until it was in its usual, familiar state. She gave him a bright smile. "This Koda I like. I like a lot."

Koda reached to her, and slowly pulled off her mask. He knew how much it meant to her, and her heritage in the business. However, she didn't try to stop him. He removed it, holding it in his hand.

"This Alessandra I like." He replied. "I like a lot."

With that, he pulled into her, kissing her softly, before holding her in his arms. From their vantage point behind the counter, Chase just sank back down, sitting with his back to it.

"Well I'll be damned." He said with a smile as Allison just smirked at him.

"You can say it now." She told him.

"Alright, fine, you're a genius." He answered. "I'm a bonehead."

"Yeah, but you're my bonehead." She answered, nudging him. "Just promise me, no more matchmaking alright?"

"You have my word." He replied, pulling her into a tight hug.


	13. Chase's Surprise

In San Francisco, the show had gone down a storm, and the fans were all on their feet baying for blood as the main event took place, the Kolossal Koallition against an older team that had been huge names in the area for close to twenty years in what was known as a "hardcore" match...namely it meant that weapons were legal, and falls counted anywhere. It was a concept that was popular in the early nineties when people looked for more violence and were more into anti-heroes like Wolverine and Batman than clean-cut superhero types like Captain America and Superman. It was a more nihilistic and cynical time and people preferred grit to happy endings.

Several feds and wrestlers had taken to it with relish, and made whole careers from it. While there were many that were genuinely talented and could work such matches well, there were also a number of workers that took to it for an entirely different reason. It was far easier to simply club each other with blunt instruments and slam each other into thumb tacks than it was to actually learn how to wrestle! As long as someone didn't mind getting stitched up or getting battered over the head, anyone could become a star! The Kolossal Koallition were just such performers. Jack watched from his spot in the crowd, and could see they performed practically every spot where they were expected to do an actual wrestling manoeuvre in such a sloppy way it bordered on criminal negligence to their opponents' safety. The only thing that could be said to their credit was that they were more than willing to take their share of the punishment.

Jack was in the crowd, wearing a ball cap pulled down low, and a hoodie with the hood up. The fans were distracted by what was going on in the ring, they had been the whole night, so much so that none of them had noticed that one of their heroes was sitting right there in the crowd waiting for his cue. After the referee counted the three count, the crowd was all on their feet, booing loudly as the Kolossal Koallition left their heroes battered and bloody on the floor, surrounded by weapons and debris from broken furniture. Eddie snatched up a mike.

"THIS is what we've been saying all along! These old farts have no business being in the same ring as us!" He roared to a disapproving crowd. "We're the future, these geriatrics have no place being anywhere but a care home just like Jack Malone!"

Vinny took the mike and smirked.

"Jack Malone, the 'Deer Hunter' who we left lying face down in his own blood only a few days ago!" He reminded the crowd. Jack started to make his way through the crowd, heading for the rail, completely unnoticed as everyone was focussed on the team in the ring. The other team were being helped to the back already, and workers were clearing some of the debris...this was one of the secrets of the business. Just like a magic show, they kept the audience's attention on one thing so they didn't notice the inner workings of the trick...namely the fact they were clearing the ring so that Jack's spot would work. The crowd were starting to chant Jack's name, ironic since he had been sitting with them for the last couple of hours! "Go ahead and chant! I doubt we'll be seeing him any time soon!"

At that, Jack vaulted over the guard rail and slid under the bottom rope behind them. To most watching it looked like a fan had taken the show a little too seriously, but the big give away was the fact security didn't make a move to stop him. They knew he was coming. Jack ran at them, grabbing Vinny by the scruff of the neck and the seat of his pants, launching him over the top rope to the floor. Eddie turned and swung a punch, only for Jack to duck, before grabbing him around his waist and arching backwards, hitting him with a German suplex, slamming him into the floor!

The crowd all erupted as he pulled down his hood and threw the ball cap into the crowd, revealing his identity. By the time Eddie was on his feet, Jack grabbed him, tossing him to the other side of the ring with another suplex. He was over like a shot, stomping on him, but in doing so he didn't see Vinny getting back into the ring carrying an aluminium baseball bat. Vinny brought it across the back of Jack's head, sending him to the mat.

Vinny beat Jack viciously on the floor as Eddie got up and composed himself. He looked to Jack with disgust.

"You just don't know when to quit do you old timer?" He snapped. "Vinny, let's book him a table!"

Vinny rolled out of the ring, pulling a folding table out from under it, beginning to set it up. Eddie grabbed Jack, hauling him to his feet and put his head between his legs. With a huge yell, he lifted Jack up, so he was sitting on his shoulders, before running at the side of the ring, launching Jack over the ropes, where he crashed through the table, his head rebounding off the floor as he landed. Another trick in wrestling was tables. While it looked spectacular to see someone go through a table, in reality it actually helped break the fall. The table breaking took some of the force out of the fall. That wasn't to say that being thrown from the ring to the floor, a drop of over ten feet didn't hurt...but it was the difference between that fall being lethal and being just incredibly painful. Jack lay on the floor unmoving. This was a bad sign, generally performers would move a little just so their opponent would know they were alright, but Jack's head had hit the floor hard and he was legitimately unconscious. Vinny and Eddie though weren't paying attention, instead getting back into the ring to accept the crowd's boos.

"You see, THIS is what happens when you mess with us!" Eddie barked into the house mike. "If you survive this Jack, we'll see you in Amber Beach, where my man Vinny here will end your career for good if you have the guts to show up!"

With that, he tossed the mike to the floor and the Kolossal Koallition walked out of the arena as fans threw everything that wasn't nailed down at them. They had done a good job as heels, now the fans were eagerly awaiting when Jack would get even.

The following morning, in the Embassy building, Phillipe was in his office, training against the G-bot, this time with one of his security crew using the control harness to make it mimic his moves. Phillipe found it a challenge to work against an opponent with no pain receptors, that wouldn't shy away from the prospect of a possible attack, and so he figured this was perfect practice for if he faced off against a monster that could withstand a blow from a Ranger without flinching. Margaret just wandered in, yawning as she did so, only to see the G-bot finishing the training bout as the guy controlling it succumbed to fatigue. It gave Phillipe a thumbs up sign.

"Nice work." Phillipe told the guard, mopping himself down with a towel. "Though you might want to work on your cardio."

"We HAVE been going at this for over an hour your highness." The guard chuckled. Phillipe's training meant he was in incredible shape, he thought nothing of hour-long sparring sessions anymore. He almost missed the fact that other people tired a lot more quickly.

"OK, some asshole was using a nail gun to put up wood panelling in the room next to my bedroom." Margaret grumbled. "You might have something against sleep, but the rest of us kind of like getting eight hours."

"Apologies Margaret, I just want this Embassy up and running as soon as possible." He told her. "If the foreman's estimate is accurate, with the crew I've assembled, it should be ready by the end of the week."

"Whatever, if you need me, I'll be taking a shower...and about ten espressos!" She told him. Phillipe just smiled as she left.

"Some people just have no stamina." He remarked, gesturing to the guar wearing the control harness to get up. "Come, again!"

"Seriously?" He asked, before getting to his feet wearily. "What do you run on, Energiser batteries?"

"I just have a lot of energy!" Phillipe told him. "Soon, all of this will be worth it! Now, come at me!"

Over at the museum, a coach rolled up a little before opening time. Kendall was already outside waiting for them. While it wasn't unusual for her to be there early, in this instance she was there for a reason. Part of the offer she'd made to the school in return for the kids performing the Haka was that she would allow them in early for a private tour beforehand.

"Alright kids, here we are, Amber Beach Museum!" Their teacher declared. "This is Doctor..."

"MISS" Kendall corrected him. It wasn't exactly by choice, and she was more than qualified, but she had yet to actually sit exams to attain a doctorate. "It's Ms Morgan."

"Ms Morgan here is the museum director, and our tour guide for this morning." He told them. "I want you all to behave! We're representing our country now!"

"Alright kids, get your cameras ready and don't be shy about asking questions!" Kendall told them. "Alright, come this way!"

In another part of the museum, Chase was walking with Allison as she took him into another wing. Kendall was putting on an exhibit to tribal cultures. One of those cultures just happened to be the Maori, the natives of New Zealand. While this much was true, and Kendall had arranged for Chloe's class to be brought there to perform the Kapo Haka to open the exhibit, Allison bringing Chase here was somewhat of a ruse. She'd promised she would keep him distracted so that when he saw Chloe it would be a huge surprise.

"So, what do you think?" Allison asked.

"You do know I'm not Maori right?" He chuckled. "I'm about as Maori as you are Aborigine."

"Oh come on, all you Kiwis are super into all that stuff aren't you?" She asked. "I mean, I can't count the number of times when I was at school we had a rugby team from New Zealand come and do that silly dance thing before a game."

"It's called a Haka." Chase told her abruptly. Chase didn't take many things seriously, but he was fiercely proud of his upbringing and his home country. "And it isn't just something we do at sports events. It's a show of strength, it's a sign of respect as much as it is a challenge. It's performed whenever we meet a foreign dignitary, it's performed by the military as a way to honour those who fell in battle when they're brought home..."

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say someone is a little homesick." Allison teased him as she moved closer. Chase just smiled.

"I have been thinking about home a lot recently". He admitted. "It's been so long...Chloe's probably already grown up and dating all kinds of guys I'd be scaring the shit out of if I was there..."

"Well, I know I'm not a Kiwi, but I am an Aussie and that's the next best thing right?" Allison asked, wrapping her arms around his waist at which he wrapped his around her shoulders.

As they kissed, they didn't notice Kendall bringing the kids into the exhibit. Allison had fluffed a little on her timing and kept Chase there a little longer than intended.

"EWWW Gross!" Chloe remarked. "You said you were going to distract him, I didn't think you meant like this!"

"Chloe?" Chase asked, before the penny dropped and he was overwhelmed. It had been a year and a half since he had left New Zealand, he hadn't seen her in all that time! He ran over, scooping her up in his arms. "CHLOE! Oh my God I've missed you like crazy!"

"I thought a practical demonstration of the Haka would be good for the exhibit." Kendall chipped in. "And I thought this would be a nice surprise, a treat for all you've done around here."

"Oh my God, Thank you Ken...uh...Ms Morgan." He rushed out, before looking back to Chloe "My God, you're so big!"

"You're seriously dating an Aussie?" Chloe asked him, pointing to Allison. "I thought you always said Aussies were..."

Chase hugged her close, taking care to clamp a hand down over her mouth. Allison looked to him, her eyebrows shooting up.

"So...you kids are opening the exhibit?" He asked. "Well, I guess you're going to need a good breakfast then! Good for you I make THE best omelettes in existence! Come this way!"

As he led them out of the room, Kendall and Allison came together. Allison just sighed.

"I'm sorry, I lost track of time." She admitted. Just then, Chase came back, and running at them so fast it was clear he wasn't even thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed both of them, hugging them tightly.

"Thank you both so much!" He rushed out, before heading back out. Kendall straightened out her suit and her glasses.

"Well, it might not be as planned exactly, but I think we got the desired effect." She answered. "Good work Allison."

"Any time Ms Morgan." She said as she left her alone. "Anytime."


	14. Arise Graphite Ranger

The following morning, Chase was no use to anyone! He accomplished more of his work rota on that morning than he had in almost two years preparing for his sister and her class arriving! No one had ever seen him work so hard!

By the time it came time for the performance, Chase had already performed nearly a week's worth of the work anyone expected of him.

The kids were all dressed in tribal dress and were on the stage performing the Kapo Haka. It was a dance made famous by the All Blacks or New Zealand Rugby team. It was a large part of New Zealand culture, the Haka was as much a sign of respect as it was a war dance. It was performed when a foreign dignitary visited. It was performed when members of the military were brought home from war zones having sacrificed their lives!"

Chase watched on as she chanted in Maori, a language that few beyond New Zealand knew of, reciting the rites of the Haka. Several of the boys in the class had large red welts on their chests and forelegs. Part of the Haka was slapping oneself hard on those locations. These kids were so fiercely proud of their heritage they were not going at it half-strength!

The room erupted into an applause as they finished the dance. Kendall was the first to step foward.

"I want to say a big thank you to our visitors from New Zealand for their wonderful performance of Kapo Haka, a traditional Maori dance." She announced.

The crowd applauded and headed off dutifully following their tour guides, Koda wasn't paying much attention to anything though; he was still in world of his own after what happened with Alessandra the previous night.

As he was about to clear a table, his morpher bleeped.

"Guys, there's a disturbance downtown!" Kendall told them. "It's Fury."

"We're on our way!" Tyler rushed out as they all ran from the restaurant. Allison just sighed.

"I guess I'm handling the morning coffee rush myself again".

The Rangers got to the site of the attack, but they found to their surprise half of the viviks were already down and out! There was a white robot pounding into them! It was far too slow and didn't hit them often, but when it did, hit sent them flying over ten feet!

"Attack Viviks" It kept repeating over and over. The Rangers rushed into the battle to join it.

"OK, whatever this thing is it's..." Tyler's words were cut off as he ended up on the receiving end of a clothesline that nearly turned him inside out! "Holy SHIT that thing hits hard!"

The battle was over before any of the Rangers could analyse the situation any further. Fury had run of when he figured he couldn't win, leaving everyone completely confused.

"What the hell is that thing?" Shelby asked as she gestured to the G-Bo. This was when Phillipe chose to break cover and reveal himself.

"I see you like my robot!" Phillipe stated. "It is the very height of combat training technology."

"This fighting machine yours?" Koda asked.

"It is." Phillipe responded. "So, how did it fare?"

Ivan was bound to the royal household of Zandar, and so he could not lie...even if doing so was bound to cause offence.

"It was...not that helpful." Ivan told him. Phillipe just looked hurt and confused.

"It kind of...got in the way." Shelby injected.

"A robot will just never have the reactions a human Ranger will." Riley added.

"I see." Phillipe answered, trying to process all he'd been told. "I was trying to help..."

"What are you even doing here?" Chase asked him. "Aren't you meant to be in Zandar or something?"

"Wait, what are they doing?" Phillipe shouted as he saw some Viviks lifting the fallen body of his G-bot "PUT THAT DOWN! COME BACK!"

By the time they had followed him around the corner, all they could see was some of Sledge's drop pods blasting off and heading into orbit.

"Damn it!" Tyler muttered.

"Don't worry; they can't control it without this!" Phillipe responded.

"I wouldn't count on it, Wrench is a sneaky bastard." Chase answered. "What were you doing here anyway?"

"Oh...I have something to discuss with Koda." He answered. "Perhaps over some burgers?"

Koda nodded enthusiastically as they walked away. Shelby just looked to Tyler.

"There's more to this than he's telling right?" She commented.

"Definitely!" Tyler answered.

Back at the cafe, Margaret was standing in a corner, keeping a safe distance while also keeping a careful eye on things. Koda had a huge pile of burgers in front of him, all courtesy of Phillipe.

"So, you said the gem CHOSE you?" Phillipe asked. He knew that Koda was the first human that had ever bonded to an Energem. If anyone would understand what it took to bond to an Energem, it would be him.

"I not understand, but yes, Energem CHOOSE me!" Koda told him as he chewed through a mouthful of burger.

"Really? A caveman?" Phillipe asked. "Why?"

"Energem think I have good heart." Koda stated, pounding a fist to his chest. Phillipe fell silent at this.

"Good heart?" He asked. "How does one prove that to a gem?"

"Not know, Energems very mysterious!" Koda answered. Just then, they were interrupted as a girl came over carrying a magazine.

"You're...you're him aren't you!" She asked. Margaret was over like a shot, but Phillipe stopped her before she did any harm. "Can I get an autograph?"

"Of course, anything for a fan." Phillipe said as he signed the magazine.

"Oh you are so cute!" The girl gasped. Margaret grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, looking decidedly less than amused.

"OK, that's enough!" She barked as she gave the girl the bum's rush to the door. Phillipe didn't pay any attention though he was too busy paying attention to Koda.

So...if one wants to bond to n Energem they have to prove they have a good heart?" He asked. Koda just shrugged.

"Guess so." He answered.

"Enjoy the burgers." He replied as he walked away. "COME! We have a lot of work to do!"

The rest of the day was a hive of activity in the Zandarian Embassy. While it was a long way from being completed, or officially recognised as an embassy, Phillipe was pouring money into it to ensure it would be ready as soon as possible, but now he knew that wasn't enough! It wasn't enough to just be in Amber Beach and hold an Energem; he needed to prove he deserved it!

He was in his office, signing cheques like his life depended on it! He was no stranger to paperwork, but his hand felt like it was going to fall off at the wrist. Margaret walked in seeing him shaking some feeling back into his hand.

"Phillipe, what are you doing?" She asked.

"You heard the Blue Ranger; I need to prove I have a good heart!" He replied.

"You've given my annual salary five times over in one afternoon!" Margaret stated.

"Once the Graphite Energem says I am worthy, I will consider myself a good man." He stated. "Until then, I have work to do."

As she left the room, Margaret wiped an errant tear from her face with her wrist. She and Phillipe had grown up together, and they had been raised together. Margaret had known since she was7 years old that she was in love with Phillipe, but she didn't dare to hope that anything would happen between them. He was the heir to the Principality of Zandar...she was his bodyguard. That was all that needed to be said.

In Amber Beach, Chase came into the Dino Bite Cafe, seeing Chloe with her friends. It might only have been a year and a half since he had left New Zealand, but he felt like he had misses so much of her life in that time! She was just...she had grown so much!

"Chloe!" He said as he scooped her up in his arms. He looked down on her as he put her back down. "Wow! You've grown right out of your pants!"

"They're shorts." She giggled.

"As long as you aren't wearing them for a boy right?" He chuckle before the thought slammed into the back of his brain. "You aren't wearing them for a boy right?"

"EW gross!" She said with a look of revulsion on her face. "No I'm not wearing them for a boy, boys are gross!"

"Keep thinking that...for about another fifteen years or so." He answered. "In the meantime I DID promise to teach you how to skate..."

"YAY!" Chloe yelled as she leapt into his arms so hard she almost took him clean off his feet. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. He could see Tyler in the doorway to the kitchen indicating for him to follow. Chase gestured to Allison.

"Look, something important just came up. I really need to go." He told the disappointed 8 year old. "Allison will look after you!"

As he ran out, Allison could see how disappointed Chloe was.

"Chloe, what he's doing is really important..."

"How important can it be? Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years!" She sobbed as she swept away some tears. "They've been buried all that time..."

"But they are also very fragile." Allison rushed out, trying to think of an excuse. "It's a race against time when they find fossils, other teams aren't as careful..."

"I've not seen him in nearly two years!" Chloe sobbed. Allison just looked to her.

"Tell you what, I'm kind of a skater too, how about I take you to the skate park and show you a few things?" She asked. "One condition though, you've known Chase a lot longer than me; I need to see some embarrassing baby photos!"

"Deal!" Chloe answered, high-fiving Allison.

Over at the Embassy, Phillipe was in his office, working out. Margaret just dodged aside as one of his security detail almost hit her.

"Margaret, good to see you!" The responded, only to be hit with a right cross right across the jaw! He had been distracted when she walked in, but his strict instructions were that training sessions were not to be interrupted! His guards had only taken his instructions literally and hadn't stopped when they were interrupted.

"Your highness I'm sorry..."

"Do not be, you were only doing as I commanded." Phillipe assured him.

"You called for me?" Margaret asked him. Phillipe just nodded

"The Energem has still not responded to me." He told her. "Are you certain those donations were sent?"

"Yes, they were!" Margaret replied dumping a whole sack of letters onto his desk. "If you don't believe me, maybe you should read your thank you letters!"

With that, she overturned a huge sack of mail all over the Prince's desk. Hundreds, possibly thousands of letters tumbled out onto the desk. He just stared at them,

"I...I don't understand, I've done everything I can think of!" Phillipe muttered, seeing the hundreds of hand-written letters all addressed to him. "What more can I do?"

"Maybe...maybe there isn't anything else you can do." Margaret suggested. "The Energems choose the Rangers. I know you're a good person, and I'm certain you'd fight well as a Ranger, but maybe...maybe that Energem just isn't for you."

"I can't believe all that work was all for nothing." He muttered. He gathered up his jacket, heading for the door. "There's only one thing for it then. If the Energem won't bond to me, then I should return it to its rightful place."

A couple of hours later, Phillipe was waiting in a nearby park when the Rangers arrived. It was a humbling experience for him to admit that he was not worthy of being a Ranger...his was life of privilege, a life where things were simply handed to him...it was not common he was refused anything, but in this case, it seemed he was.

"Your Highness, what do you wish to speak about?" Ivan asked. Phillipe produce the Graphite Energem without a word.

"The Graphite Energem?" Tyler asked "But how...?"

"It was found in Zandar over a month ago." He admitted.

"A MONTH?" They all chorused as they stared at him.

"I swear I didn't keep it from you on purpose!" He rushed out. "One of my ancestors once worked as a double-agent for the Allies in World War 2! I hoped...I hoped that I could live up to that."

He handed the Energem to Tyler.

"I don't know why, but clearly I am not worthy." He stated. "Perhaps you can find someone more fitting?"

"Well, we're not happy you kept it for so long, but thanks for giving this to us." Tyler replied.

The air was filled with the stench of burned ozone as a power blast sent them flying in all directions. They were all struggling to get back up.

"What the hell...?"

"Attack Rangers!" The heard a mechanical voice saying. It was only then that they say G-bot! "Attack Rangers!"

"What the HELL did you programme that thing to do?" Riley asked Phillipe.

"It was a training tool! IT was only designed to fight me when I wanted it to!" Phillipe told them. "But it's programmed with the moves of some of the best fighters in existence!"

"You made something like that WHY exactly?" Chase asked as he ducked into cover to escape a power blast.

"BECAUSE I WAS TRYING TO BECOME A RANGER!" He yelled. "I'm sorry; I never expected it to be used against us!"

They all ran into the battle, leaving Margaret to hold Phillipe in her arms.

"I...I never meant for any of this to happen." He whispered.

On a path, a little closer than anyone would be happy about; Chloe was rolling on a skateboard with Allison holding her hands to keep her steady. Allison, true to her word was teaching her the basics of skateboarding to keep her occupied until Chase could return.

"You see? It's easy!" Allison told her. "You'll be pulling mid-air 360's before you know it!"

"I'm doing it! I'm really doing it!" Chloe rushed out excitedly. They heard an explosion and looked up, seeing Fury and his goons attacking the park.

"Alright guys, we all know what to do!" Tyler called out as they started to regroup. He pulled out his morpher, preparing to activate it, but Shelby grabbed his hand.

"Tyler, look!" Shelby said, pointing over to where Chloe and Allison were diving for cover.

"Chase! Help!" Chloe screamed as she dived to avoid a blast, getting into cover behind a water fountain. Unfortunately, once she was there, she was hopelessly pinned down.

"CHLOE!" Chase yelled as he tried in vain to get to her, but he was caught and held back by some Viviks. Fury could see him struggling, and looked across seeing the terrified girl cowering behind the fountain. He had no idea who she was, but it was clear that she was important to the Black Ranger. He looked to the G-Bo

"G-Bo...new target!" He growled, pointing towards Chloe. Chase re-doubled his efforts to break free, but Viviks piled onto him, keeping him from going anywhere.

"CHLOE!" He screamed as he tried in vain to reach out for her, but he was much too far away.

Phillipe saw the robot aiming for the terrified little girl and looked around for the Rangers. They were all busy, struggling with their opponents. There was no way any of them would reach Chloe in time. He started to get to his feet as Margaret grabbed his arm.

"Phillipe...I know you're not thinking..." Before she could say anything else though, Phillipe had ripped away from her and broke cover, running straight at the G-Bot. He started to attack it, getting its attention away from Chloe. He managed to kick it away, before running over, scooping up Chloe in his arms. He ran for all he was worth, carrying the terrified girl to safety a little way off. He looked down to the little girl in his arms.

"Are you alright?" He asked her. Chloe just looked up to him, a bright little smile crossing her face.

"Uh huh!" She finally managed to say. She could only look up into his face, seeing the warm smile on his face as he checked on her. A moment later, Margaret, Allison and Chase had all managed to get to him.

"Chloe, oh my gosh!" Chase yelled frantically as he hurriedly checked over his sister. She had a few minor scrapes from flying debris, but it looked like she had gotten away mostly unharmed. He grabbed her in a tight hug, before looking to Phillipe. "Thank you mate!"

"Margaret, take them to the Embassy! They'll be safe there!" Phillipe told her.

"Come, the car's this way!" Margaret told them, leading Allison and Chloe away. Chase just looked to Phillipe gratefully.

"Thank you so much mate!" He said to him. "If anything had happened to Chloe...I owe you one!"

"Well, I do kind of owe you for all of this." Phillipe responded. "I'd say we're even."

Just then, their attention was grabbed as the Graphite Energem, which had been thrown out of Tyler's hand by the first attack, suddenly started to rise into the air, glowing brightly.

Before anyone knew what was happening, it flew straight at Phillipe with such force it knocked him off his feet as it flew into his hand. Lying on the ground, stunned, Phillipe suddenly felt energy coursing through him, and could see flashes in his mind of the Pachysaurus. Chase reached down to him, helping Phillipe to his feet.

"The Energem, I don't understand." Phillipe stated as the others gathered round him. "Why did it bond to me now?"

"You very brave to save Chloe." Koda complimented him. "Energem make very wise choice."

"Ms Morgan, you aren't going to believe what just happened!" Shelby announced down her communicator.

"I think I know exactly what happened." Kendall replied. Phillipe looked down as his morpher appeared in his hand, and smiled. This was everything he was hoping for. He turned his attention to the monsters before them.

"Is it Morphin' time?" He asked. Tyler just nodded.

"It is indeed." Tyler told him. "And since this is your first time, I'll let you lead off."

With that, Phillipe stepped up, putting his Dino Charger into the morpher.

"UNLEASH THE POWER!" He called out, as the Rangers all joined him, morphing ready for battle. Fury could only watch as he saw the newest addition to the team preparing for battle. The Graphite Ranger had arrived!


	15. Phillipe's New Role

The battle raged on through the park, now that the citizens had run off and the Rangers could finally morph. One of the few benefits of the ferocity of the attacks and terrifying appearance of Sledge's crew was that it generally didn't take long for the citizens to flee the area and leave the Rangers to battle without having to worry about any witnesses to their identity.

Prince Phillipe was fighting with all his strength, every skill he had learned over a lifetime spent preparing for a war that he didn't know would ever come. Viviks fell before him as he experienced the newfound strength of his Ranger form.

"This is incredible, far greater than I ever could have imagined!" Phillipe said as he watched a Vivik fly into the distance, before melting into nothing as he kicked it as hard as he could. He looked over to where Tyler was fighting with Fury. He understood there was something of a rivalry between them, though he didn't really know what it was about. He could only watch though as his G-Bo started to approach. Tyler was so focused on Fury that he didn't see it coming; it was going to catch him completely unawares.

With a huge yell, he ran at it, taking it down with a flying kick. It felt solid under the attack, far stronger than he could remember. It seemed that Wrench had made more improvements than simply adding blasters. It was quickly back on his feet.

"Attack Rangers!" It kept reciting in its mechanical voice.

"I'll give you a hand..."

"Thank you Ivan but no!" Phillipe declared as the Gold Ranger was by his side, holding an arm across him. "This is my creation. It is my responsibility to ensure it does no more harm!"

With that, he ran at it, fighting with everything he could muster. He had created it to do good, to help train, and become stronger so that he could protect his people, but now that it was harming others, he was determined to destroy his own creation.

Over at the museum, Kendall was monitoring the battle closely. She knew that there were always teething troubles with a new Ranger; it was something that took a while to get used to. It was unfortunate that often the Energems bonded to the Rangers in the midst of battle or times of strife. She's begun to theorise that they did this in order to throw their bearers in at the deep end and ensure they were ready, but it didn't leave them with an opportunity to figure out the extent of their powers or how to use their weapons. He could still remember Shelby telling her that in their first outing, Tyler had narrowly missed blowing her head off and making her first Ranger battle her last figuring out how his blaster worked.

Although by now she was used to the fact that she had no choice who the Energems bonded to and became a Ranger, she had to admit one thing about Phillipe. Due to his extensive military training, he certainly had plenty of fighting skills. He seemed to be starting off in a stronger place than a lot of them on that ground, but she had to be a little put out by the fact he had kept the Energem from them for so long. Still, right now she didn't have much of a choice in the matter but to help.

"Ms Morgan, they're pulling out the big guns!" Shelby told her as Fury finally broke off from the battle, running for the hills.

Kendall could see the remaining Viviks starting to fall upon each other, forming up a Vivimonster.

"Alright, you know what to do." She told them, preparing to switch her focus to Phillipe's battle. As she was about to turn her attention towards the other monitor, she heard a loud crash and a scream. She turned back.

"Guys, what happened?" She rushed out. "Someone talk to me!"

"The monster just scored a field goal with Tyler!" Chase told her.

"Tyler, are you alright?" She yelled into the mike. "TYLER?"

Unfortunately, she didn't get much of an answer. Just a kind of unintelligible groan, which let her knew that he had taken a pretty hard shot. She checked the readings on him.

"Ms Morgan?" Shelby asked.

"He'll be fine in a while, but he's out of this fight." She told them, trying to think of a solution. "Alright, you need to bring him back here, the last thing we need is to leave him while he's vulnerable. Chase, you, Koda and Shelby bring him back here. Ivan, you and Riley keep Fury busy."

"It will be done my lady." Ivan assured her. She then turned her attention to the Graphite Ranger's battle. Phillipe blasted him back with a strong punch as his communicator sounded.

"Phillipe, Tyler's been hurt. The others are occupied." Kendall told him. "I need you to summon the Pachyzord."

"Zord...I have a Zord?" He asked her. She just sighed. "I must say I'm not having much luck with robots right now..."

"Just...take your Dino Charger and throw it as hard as you can." She told him, shaking her head in disbelief. "It'll guide itself."

"If you're sure." He said, taking the Dino Charger out of his belt, looking to it. "Here's hoping. Pachyzord Arise!"

He was taken off his feet by another blast, and had to return his attention to the G-bo. By now, it was damaged, but it was still going strong. He had resigned himself to a long battle, taking it a piece at a time if necessary. He was starting to regret turning down Ivan's help earlier. He suddenly heard a huge roar, and grabbed the G-bo, holding it in an arm lock, allowing him to turn his attention to the air. The Pachyzord was attacking the Vivimonster with a power he couldn't believe. He marvelled as it swung around, bringing its tail, which ended in a massive wrecking ball round, slamming it into the monster. It exploded, heralding its end. Phillipe was heartened to see this.

"If my Pachyzord has the power to destroy that monster, then I have the power to destroy you!" He said with renewed authority, throwing the G-bo aside. It turned back to him as he powered himself up, harnessing all the power of his Energem. "Royal Ranger PUNCH!"

As he threw out his arm, a wrecking ball exactly like that on his Zord shot out of his outstretched hand. It hit the G-bo, smashing it into smithereens. Phillipe observed his handiwork with a satisfied smile as he saw the robot destroyed. Ivan and Riley were quickly by his side.

"Impressively done Your Highness!" Ivan congratulated him as he arrived. "You have done impressively well for your first battle!"

"I thank you." Phillipe answered. "And what of Fury?"

"He bugged out when he saw what your Zord did to his monster." Riley answered. "So it looks like we're done here."

"Not quite." Ivan said with a smile. "This honour is yours Your Highness."

"Well, maybe just this once." Phillipe answered. "Robot destroyed!"

Back at the museum, Kendall pulled off her headset and let out a groan of frustration.

"What are you unhappy about?" Keeper asked as he appeared. Kendall jumped as she got a little fright. She was becoming used to his random appearances, but that didn't mean they weren't still a surprise. "Your team has done very well today, even with one of their number down and a new team member."

"Yeah, they did well." She muttered. Just then, Shelby, Koda and Chase arrived back, bringing Tyler with them. By now, he was on his feet and walking with a little help from Koda just to be on the safe side. "If you'll excuse me Keeper, I have work to do. Shelby, I've set up the medical bay, take Tyler there."

Up on Sledge's ship, Wrench was running for his life, with Sledge in hot pursuit. This wasn't the first time he had failed in one of his projects. Indeed, the fact half of Sledge's holding cells were now debris spinning off into the cosmos was evidence of this. He had only JUST gotten back into Sledge's good graces; he was already on thin ice.

When Fury brought him the G-bo and instructed him to re-purpose it, Wrench could only see one thing. The Rangers' friend, the one with the glasses had bested his creations, challenged his hacking abilities and won, and she had humiliated him by destroying his creations on so many occasions, he felt nothing but rage any time he thought about her. When he saw the G-bo, he saw that it had been well made for the most part...well-made for human technology at least, and he took to the task with relish. By the time he was finished, all he could imagine was seeing the Rangers lain to waste, and the panicked look on her face as he and the G-bo broke into her base, to see the look of terror in her eyes as she watched all her work destroyed!

Once again though, he had suffered a horrendous turn of events. Some human aristocrat, some insignificant man from a nation few had even heard of had apparently happened upon the Graphite Energem. He felt ill when he saw him morph for the first time on the viewing screen. When they watched the G-bo being destroyed, he took to heel and ran, knowing that Sledge would not be far behind him.

"WRENCH! There's nowhere you can run on this ship Wrench!" Sledge roared, firing off a few blasts that narrowly missed him. Wrench was barely able to keep ahead of him, but as he took a turn down a corridor, he realised to his horror that he had hit a dead-end! At least, it may as well have been. There, right at the end of the corridor was the door to the Solitary block! He was about to turn back, when he was confronted by Sledge. He was quickly joined by Poisandra and Curio.

Wrench tried to weigh up his options. If he stayed, Sledge was sure to destroy him. Attacking to try and escape wasn't an option; he'd be scrap metal before he got to the end of the corridor! The solitary block...if he went through there, he'd have to risk running into...he didn't even want to think about what, or who he might run into. Realising his situation was hopeless, he resorted to the only course of action he could think of...grovelling! Tears started to shoot out of him as he fell to his knees.

"I'm sorry Master Sledge, please give me another chance!" He begged him, grovelling at Sledge's feet.

"You promised me a powerful weapon AGAINST the Rangers!" Sledge snarled as he grabbed Wrench and hauled him to his feet. "Instead, now there's ANOTHER ONE!"

"Don't forget he also blew up half your ship and cost you hundreds of prisoners." Poisandra said, hoping to dig him in deeper, eager to watch the carnage. She always loved to watch Sledge commit horrendous acts of violence. "Do it Sledgeums! Destroy him before he destroys everything you've worked for!"

"Master Sledge! Wait!" Fury rushed out as he arrived. He came into view. "Wrench fouled up, I know, but I ask you to reconsider!"

"Why should I? In two simple missions he's almost destroyed everything!" Sledge growled. "Don't think I'm forgetting that it was you who brought that thing onto my ship in the first place!"

"But Master Sledge, I believe I may have found something, something that makes what happened here today insignificant!" Fury told him.

"Speak quickly Fury." Sledge warned him. Fury presented a portable viewing screen to him. Sledge looked to it, and snorted in disgust. "Are you serious Fury? You want me to look at some cheap tabloids?"

"The Earth was at one time one continent. It broke up millions of years ago. We already know the Ankylozord was found on a different land mass to the others. So I began thinking...what if some of the Energems ended up on different land masses too?"

"You think we might find others...?"

"The Zandarian Prince bonded to the Graphite Energem. Perhaps he found the Energem IN Zandar." He suggested. "I've been looking for stories, rumours that hold similarities to what we would expect from the other Energems, and then I found a series of stories I found very interesting."

"The Violet Avenger?" Sledge asked as Fury scrolled the screen. "The Violet Avenger captures purse snatcher, the Violet Avenger prevents carjacking? This is just some vigilante!"

"Yes, I thought that might be the case too, but reports claimed he showed strength, speed that seemed unnatural, and that he always showed up in a purple outfit." Fury stated. "I just got a hit...someone finally got a picture!"

He showed Sledge an incredibly blurry photograph, one that showed a roughly human shape speeding away from the scene of a crime. It was mainly purple, but there was a hint of yellow around the middle, and some sliver just above it.

"Does it look familiar?" He asked.

"You think this might be the Purple Ranger?" Sledge asked him. "Where...?"

"That's the best part. These stories come from New Zealand!" He responded. Sledge just looked curious. "Someone has bonded to an Energem on the other side of the world. He's all alone, and the most dangerous thing he's faced is local street thugs! If we go there..."

"It'll be as good as if the Energem was unbonded! He won't have a chance!" Sledge responded.

"I will require his help." Wrench responded, pointing to Wrench. "He may have been less than successful building effective weapons lately, but I'm certain my search will be far faster if he helps with one of his gadgets."

"Fine, but let me warn you, my patience is wearing thin Wrench!" Sledge warned him, before pointing to the Solitary block. "If you destroy our efforts one more time, you're going in there!"

With that, he threw him down the hall, at which Wrench and Fury left. Poisandra just humphed in disappointment.

"I don't know WHY you keep them around!" She whined.

"Never mind that my sweet." Sledge responded, looking to her. "Once we have one Energem, the rest will fall to us soon enough. Why don't you just think about which one you want mounted in your wedding ring?"

With that, she let out a squeal of delight and ran off to start thinking about designs for her wedding ring.

Back at the Dino Lab, the rest of the team had finally returned after the battle. Kendall was just finishing with Tyler's examination.

"Just as I thought, you're going to be fine." Kendall assured him. "You took a hard shot, but the suit took the worst of it. With your healing factor, you should be fine by this time tomorrow."

"In the meantime, I'll just try not to laugh." He said with a smile. "Or...you know...breathe too deeply."

"That was really pretty scary seeing you laid out like that." Shelby replied, holding him gently. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"I'll try not to." Tyler replied, looking to Phillipe. "But hey, how about our newest Ranger? You were awesome!"

Kendall said nothing as the others congratulated him on his first battle. He remained humble under the praise though. He was keenly aware that things could have turned out very differently.

"I thank you for your kind words, but I cannot accept such kind praise." He replied humbly. "The G-bo was my creation, and if I had just told you about the Energem, perhaps you would have had your new Ranger much sooner. Instead, Chase's sister was nearly killed and Tyler was injured."

"Don't be so hard on yourself mate. None of us are perfect." Chase told him. "Besides, what you did for Chloe was amazing! I owe you so much."

"Of course if he had just given us the Energem she wouldn't have been in danger in the first place." Kendall muttered. It was so low that only Shelby was close enough to hear her.

"I must apologise for not being more upfront. It's just...I believed if I could prove myself worthy as a Ranger, then one day I would be worthy as ruler of my nation." He told them. "But when the Energem wouldn't bond to me, I tried to prove I was worthy. I did all the good deeds I could think of, but none of it mattered. I just don't understand why it bonded to me now."

"The Energem as you know looks for those with a good heart." Keeper said as he arrived. Phillipe looked a little surprised at his appearance.

"Is that...?"

"Keeper's an alien; he's the one that brought the Energems to Earth." Chase explained. "He's...sort of our mentor."

"Your good deeds, while they did benefit others, your motives were inherently selfish. You sought to gain from them." Keeper continued. "The Energem could see you were worthy, but you needed to prove your acts could be selfless. When you risked your life to save Chloe, the Energem bonded to you."

"Well, rest assured I will be proud to use my newfound powers to help you." He responded as his Energem flew from its resting place into his hand. "My weapons and Zord are yours, but if you ever need me, just call on me."

"Don't worry, we get it. Royalty comes with its own responsibilities." Shelby assured him. "I guess Zandar needs you."

"And I suppose it'll take a little while for you to get here." Riley responded. Phillipe just smiled.

"Not as long as you may think." He told them. He handed them a newspaper. "I trust none of you have read the evening edition of the local broadsheet."

They unfolded it and looked to the front page.

"Derelict building being converted into..." Tyler started to read, before taking in a deep breath.

"Zandarian Embassy?" They all chorused together. Phillipe just nodded.

"I was always serious about extending Zandar's international relations, and where better to start than the most powerful nation on the planet?" He asked. "Of course, I will have a lot of political responsibilities in the area now..."

"And the Embassy is a perfect way to cover why you're spending so much time away from Zandar!" Riley stated as he realised that Phillipe had been planning for this all along. "Nice one!"

"Well, like I said, I always wanted to begin expanding international relations. I would have set up an Embassy eventually. The location though will be...convenient...given recent events. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go. I have a lot of work to do."

"Just promise us, no more robots OK?" Chase asked. Phillipe just laughed.

"You don't need to worry about that." He assured them. "I've learned my lesson there."

Meanwhile, over in the Embassy building, Margaret was with Allison and Chloe, having taken them there under Phillipe's instructions. She had arranged for refreshments, and one of the staff to check over Chloe. Her injuries were superficial, so much so she didn't seem to notice at all as her grazes were cleaned. She was far too busy relaying to anyone who would listen, and even a number of people who clearly weren't listening, the story of her amazing adventure.

"So then the robot was all like 'Attack girl' and firing lasers like pew, pew, pew!" She rushed out excitedly, in a mixture of adrenaline and sugar from the treats she'd been given to calm her down. "I was sure he was going to get me! My brother was all 'CHLOE!' but he couldn't get to me! Then the Prince..."

She tailed off a little as she thought about him and smiled.

"He ran right at that robot and started hitting it all 'pow, pow' and then...he grabbed me and lifted me up and took me to safety!" She said, thinking about it with a huge grin on her face. "He was so strong, and so brave..."

"Actually, I was pretty terrified." Phillipe chuckled as he arrived. Chloe just turned to him, staring up at him with a huge grin. He ruffled her hair. "But knowing you're safe is more than enough to make up for it."

Chloe couldn't say anything, and just continued to stare up at him. He looked to Margaret.

"Margaret, do me a favour and return them to the cafe. I'm sure Chase would appreciate that." He instructed her. "Oh, and...do buy them all the ice cream they want."

With that, he headed for his office.

"I'll just take you to the car." Margaret said, gesturing to the door. "Come on, it's just this way."

As Allison guided them towards the door, Chloe couldn't take her eyes off the door to Phillipe's office, and just let out a little sigh.


	16. Cutting Edge

**A/N:** Just to explain some changes, I know I skipped the Halloween episode, and it's now way too late to convincingly make it Halloween in Amber Beach, but I have always wanted to utilise elements of it. I also have to say I really was not a fan of the episode "Whatever way you slice it." So much of it seemed really OOC for me, and so I'm going to kind of adapt elements of both of them into each other, and add some of my own twists. Hope you enjoy the next few chapters.

Up on Sledge's ship, things were a little quieter than usual. With Fury and Wrench heading off to New Zealand to follow up Fury's hunch that the rumours of a purple-clad vigilante might indicate that the Purple Energem had indeed turned up in New Zealand, things were a lot quieter. It was amazing how much noise the constant bickering between Fury and Poisandra made. There was only one problem with that...Poisandra was bored! She was bored. She had a sadistic nature, and was never happier than when she was making someone miserable. With Fury gone, she opted to amuse herself with the only victims she could think of, the prisoners. Taking the keys into the cell block, she was parading around, skipping happily while taunting the prisoners with just how close their freedom was.

"Oh I just love keys, don't you?" She giggled as she held them as close to the bars as she dared. "Don't you just love keys? Look at them, so shiny and the way they jingle...and they're so close!"

She snatched them back as the prisoners started to reach for them, taking delight in the desperate looks on their faces.

"Here Curio, catch!" She giggled as she threw the keys the length of the corridor. Her patchwork pet caught them and started taunting monsters further down.

"You want these? I don't think you want these! You're not trying very hard to get them are you?" He responded as he kept them just out of reach. Poisandra was at his side. "I don't think they want these keys very much. Maybe we should just go and hang them up!"

"You know, there's only one thing I love more than tormenting these pathetic prisoners." She told him. "Tormenting prisoners with my best friend!"

As they started hugging and dancing around, one of the prisoners took notice. Unlike his cell mates, he hadn't been reaching for the keys. He knew they would never really bring the keys close enough to let the prisoners take them. Even if he could get out of the cell, he knew he would never get off the ship. Shearfear had been on the ship long enough to know the only ones that got off the ship were those that Sledge allowed to leave.

He looked to them and got a wicked smile on his face. There wasn't much to do to occupy the time on the ship, and thanks to the stasis technology, time was largely meaningless anyway. He reached to a viewing glass, looking through it. He could see the strands of friendship running between them. On his planet, he had been a political dissident, an agent of chaos and disruption. He had learned he had a way of seeing the links of friendships between people, and more importantly, he had figured out how to break them. The people of his planet had been more than happy to pay Sledge's extortionate fee to be rid of him after several of his attacks on dignitaries trying to make political alliances had led to devastating wars.

He sneaked up to the bars, reaching through them with what looked like a pair of scissors. He brought the blades together, snipping through the bonds, just like he had done to so many politicians on his home world.

"EW! Don't tough me you stinky old pillow!" She rushed out, shoving him away from her.

"You don't smell too great yourself you know!" Curio snapped. "Here, take your stupid keys! I never liked doing this anyway!"

"Well...go and get stuffed!" She yelled, before storming off. Shearfear just laughed as he watched them leave. Unfortunately, he hadn't seen that Sledge was doing his rounds of the ship at that time. He grabbed the monster, slamming him into the bars.

"What did you do to my fiancée?" He demanded. Shearfear knew he was in for trouble. While he was well aware of who Poisandra was, he didn't know Sledge could see what was happening.

"Please, I'm sorry...I was just..." He stammered out. Sledge though quickly checked his rap sheet.

"You were the one that caused all those wars." He said thoughtfully.

"I cut their friendship bonds but...I can mend them..."

"Never mind that right now." Sledge told him. "I have something more important for you to do. If you can cause that much chaos, perhaps you can do the same to the Rangers."

"The RANGERS?" He screamed, hearing this. He didn't claim to know much about them, but he had seen enough prisoners that had been summoned from their cells to face the Rangers on Sledge's behalf leave to know that very few of them ever came back. He cast his gaze back to the cell, something that Sledge noticed.

"Defeat the Rangers and you go free." Sledge told him. "Refuse, and I turn your arms into nail clippers!"

Shearfear just nodded in understanding.

"Good, now, let's figure out how to get you close to the Rangers." Sledge stated, dragging him away. "You do kind of...stand out."

Meanwhile, on Earth, in the Zandarian Embassy building, Margaret made her way into Phillipe's room, where he had gone to get changed after his morning workout. He had quite a bit on his plate today. The construction crews were all but finished with the structural changes, and the decorators were starting work already where they could. They just had some issues they needed to discuss with him.

"Alright, I brought you a nice hot latte..." She started to say, before her words tailed off. He was still stripped to the waist, looking at himself in the mirror.

"Remarkable, is it not?" He asked her, checking out his body.

"Uh...yeah, that's something alright." Margaret said, setting the cups down on the side table. His physique had always been quite impressive, but with his most recent dedication to his training, it had only improved.

"My first battle was only yesterday, and yet now I don't even have a mark on me!" He commented as he checked out his body.

"Oh...right...that's what I was talking about." She replied.

"I know that the Rangers told me the Energems had impressive power, but I would never have anticipated this!" He continued, before reaching for a shirt that had been hanging up for him. "So, what's on the schedule for the rest of the day?"

"The guy building the water feature in the lobby has just about finished, he just wants to know what you want on the dedication plaque and when you want to turn it on." She said, reading out his schedule. "The carpet fitters are done on all but the top two floors, and the media keep calling wanting to know when you're opening."

"Tomorrow." Phillipe told her. Margaret almost choked on her latte as he said this.

"T...tomorrow?" She asked him.

"Well, only the top two floors and the basement aren't ready, we can just cordon them off." He continued as he thought about it. "I want this Embassy up and running as soon as possible!"

"Um...alright, then...I suppose you're going to want to book some kind of event then." She concluded. "Do you have anything in mind?"

"I was thinking of having a tour of the Embassy, something with children, the kind of thing that makes a great photo op." He suggested as he thought about it. "Chase told me that his sister and her class are here for another couple of days. Maybe we can convince them to come, show our dedication to international relations."

"That's a great idea." She said as she noted it down. "I'll make contact with the teacher and arrange it."

"We need something for the evening as well." Phillipe told her. "We can't go opening up the Embassy with nothing for the people of this city."

"Then I'll contact the Mayor's office and some of the local business leaders and suchlike, and order in some champagne and canapés..."

"Oh no, nothing as stuffy as all that." Phillipe said, taking a sip of his latte. "I don't want people to think of us as only interested in the usual high flyers and people of note; I want something to really welcome all the people of Amber Beach."

"So, we'll spread around some free invites..."

"I also don't want us to seem like some stuffy, uptight nation of snobs. I want them to see that Zandar has a fun side, that we can enjoy ourselves with them..." He pondered this for a moment. "A COSTUME PARTY!"

"A costume party?" She asked him.

"Yes, it's perfect! Its fun, it's a great way of getting people who normally wouldn't mix in the same room..." He snapped his fingers as he thought of something. "And it's open invitation!"

"You're joking..."

"Obviously we have space restriction, but after sending out invites to the usual local figures of note...the first 500 people who show up get in!" He stated. Margaret just sighed and shook her head.

"You don't believe in making my job easy do you?" She responded as she pulled out her cell phone to start making arrangements.

"Where would be the fun in that?" He asked her with a smile as he picked out a tie.

Meanwhile, at the museum, things were rather quiet, in fact, the place was completely empty. The Rangers had seen a lot of action as of late, and Kendall could only give the other staff so many extra shifts to cover before they would want to know exactly where the Rangers were going. Kendall too was pretty exhausted, and had let a lot of her office work slide due to the necessity of keeping up with the recent attacks. In the end, she had opted to close the museum for the day. The Rangers were all delighted at the prospect of getting some time off, and Chase especially was over the moon, since it meant he could spend some time with Chloe before she had to go home. She was only in the country for another couple of days, and so he wanted to make the most of it.

Kendall was in the lab, making the most of the quiet to catch up on the business side of things. Although Anton had told her repeatedly he didn't really care if the museum made any money or not, it was a matter of pride for her that it was a success. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for her to realise that her lack of focus on it had meant that some corners were being cut, with inevitable results.

"Seriously, three days in a row the credit cards don't balance in the gift shop?" She muttered, going through what the kid that she had left in charge of it called paperwork. To say it left something to be desired was an understatement. "You get like twenty credit card transactions a day! You call this a pay-in? If the paper was absorbent, at least I'd be able to use it to wipe my..."

She stopped her rant as she heard someone behind her. She turned around to see Shelby coming into the lab.

"Shelby?" She asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you went with the guys."

"Yeah, I was thinking of going, but I thought I might use this time to catch up on some of those online courses you gave me. I've kind of let some of them slide lately." She replied, putting down her bag and removing some notes and her laptop.

"You can't study at home?" Kendall asked her.

"Yeah, it's not so much that I CAN'T study at home, it's just that I'd really prefer NOT to." Shelby admitted as she got a pained expression on her face. "My parents have noticed I've not been spending a whole lot of time on my studies lately."

"Really?" Kendall asked her. Shelby could see that she didn't quite understand what she was getting at. Shelby just sighed.

"My dad and I kind of made a deal." She told her. "I got the job here to be close to the field as you know right?"

"Yes." Kendall responded.

"Well, I told them I wasn't planning on working in a cafe. I told them I was going to work here while I earned money to go to college and pay my way through my course." Shelby continued to explain. "But it's been a year already and I'm not in college and now they think I'm slacking off on what little work I actually do towards getting into college..."

"They think you're not serious about it anymore." Kendall surmised. Shelby just nodded.

"Dad's seriously pulling for me to go to...ugh...business school." Shelby replied with a shudder, just thinking about it. "Spending all day staring at sheets of numbers, kill me now!"

Kendall just held up some of the pay-in sheets. Shelby just sucked her teeth.

"I'll just be...over there...being quiet now." Shelby said as Kendall went back to her work. She was just setting up, but she could tell that Kendall was still in a bit of a mood. She had been since Phillipe had been revealed as the latest Ranger. "Ms Morgan...?"

"You said you were going to be quiet while I worked." Kendall grumbled.

"Ms Morgan, I couldn't help noticing you were kind of quiet after the battle yesterday." Shelby responded. "You're not too happy about the way the whole Graphite Energem thing went down are you?"

"No, I was absolutely delighted to find out that Phillipe jeopardised the entire human race, and everything we've been working for all this time for his own ego!" Kendall snapped. "It might have worked out, but he's had the Graphite Energem for a month!"

"OK, I can't defend that, but I don't really think that's why you're upset is it?" Shelby asked her.

"I thought you were interested in Palaeontology, not Psychology!" Kendall snapped at her. Shelby just held her hands up.

"Hey, peace, I just want to help." Shelby responded. "It's...it's the fact it wasn't you isn't it?"

"Shelby, I don't mind the fact I didn't get chosen..."

"Really? Because I remember the shit you gave me when you thought I took an Energem that you should have had." She reminded her, recalling a difficult part of their relationship in the beginning when they just didn't get along at all.

"I got over that..."

"You got over that when it was me, when it was only five Energems that had been chosen." Shelby stated. Kendall just turned to face her, knowing that Shelby wasn't going to let this drop. "Now it's seven..."

"Eight!" Kendall answered, before letting out a sigh. "We still don't know who, but someone bonded to the Aqua Energem."

She pulled off her glasses, beginning to stroke the bridge of her nose as she finally admitted her frustration. She had come to terms with the fact that she hadn't been chosen by any of the Energems. It was always her fondest wish to live up to the legacy left behind by the aunt she had idolised. However, as time went on and more Energems were discovered, she couldn't help feeling the disappointment each time. The Aqua Energem was already bonded; they knew that because the Ankylozord was active. Ivan had already bonded to the Gold Energem, and now the Graphite Energem was also beyond her reach.

"Ms Morgan..."

"There are ten Energems, and now eight of them are bonded to someone else!" Kendall stated. "What's wrong with me?"

"Ms Morgan, you know yourself it doesn't work like that. It isn't personal..."

"How can it not be?" Kendall asked her. Shelby was about to answer, trying hard to think of a way to make her feel better, but she couldn't think of anything. That was she noticed the elevator door opening behind Kendall, and someone stepping off the elevator. It was then she realised she didn't have to. Matt came off the elevator, and gestured to her to keep quiet as he crept up on her. "How can I not take this personally?"

"Look, I don't have any answers about that. I don't know anything about what motivates the Energems in their choices. But I do know you'd be a great Ranger."

"I know I shouldn't be so hung up on this. I know it doesn't matter if it's me that's saving the world or someone else." She replied. "I guess I just...always presumed it would happen."

"Guess who!" Matt said as he finally got up right behind Kendall and put his arms around her. Kendall let out a shriek and swung around, bringing her elbow right across his face. Matt staggered a little, only barely remaining on his feet. Kendall realised to her horror what she had done. "MATT!"

"OK, someone remind me not to do that again!" He chuckled, rubbing the side of his face. "Ow!"

Kendall just rushed into his arms, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him passionately. Shelby smiled as she started to gather up her things.

"I think I'll study up in the cafe." She said as she headed for the elevator. "I doubt I'll ever get anything done down here now."


	17. Shave and a Half Cut

Out in the plains outside of Amber Beach, Tyler pulled up the museum truck by a collection of sand dunes. Although Tyler had his own jeep, he had borrowed the flat-bed from the museum for this particular trip.

Chase was sitting in the back seat, pointing out the sights with Chloe. While she was here with her class and was meant to be sight-seeing with them, Chase had managed to convince the teacher to let her break off from the group to spend time with him. The teacher was only too happy to allow it. Despite the incident with the G-bo, he doubted that Chase would put her in any real danger intentionally. He knew how much Chloe missed her older brother, and so there weren't going to be many opportunities for her to see him in the foreseeable future. As they arrived, Tyler parked the truck up near the bottom of one of the dunes.

"Here, this one! This one is perfect!" Chloe called out as he came to a complete stop and applied the parking brake. "This is the one!"

"Are you sure?" Riley asked, looking up at the massive sand dune. "It looks kind of...big."

"That's the point silly!" She giggled as they all disembarked from the vehicle. Allison and Ivan leapt down from the back, pulling out a couple of sandboards. They only had two, but the advantage with working in a cafe was that it wasn't too hard to get their hands on as many large cardboard boxes as they wanted! They had flattened out a couple of boxes from their last delivery to use as sandboards.

"Yeah, come on guys! It's time for some fun, KIWI STYLE!" Chase declared, picking up Chloe with one arm, and putting his Sandboard under the other, beginning to look for a solid route up to the top of the sand dune. Allison wasn't far behind them, looking as enthusiastic about the whole thing as they were.

"Maybe it's a down-under thing?" Riley suggested. "Maybe all that time upside down makes the blood rush to their heads?"

"Oh come on Riley, where's your sense of adventure?" Tyler asked him with a bright smile.

"I think I left it back at the museum." Riley said as he looked towards the truck, like he was thinking about taking it and heading back into town.

"Dude, you once took a magical mystery tour to a place where you took part in a jousting tournament." Tyler reminded him, popping him on the shoulder. "Come on Ivan! This looks like a blast!"

"Tyler is right Sir Riley." Ivan answered. "You only live once."

"That's kind of what I'm afraid of." Riley sighed as he grabbed a sheet of cardboard and followed the others up the hill.

In another part of town, Koda was spending the day with Alessandra training. There was only a couple of weeks left until the show in Amber Beach, and they were both determined to be as ready as possible. Alessandra had already missed almost a full month of action due to her injury, while Koda had been promised that this show would be his debut in front of the home crowd. Alessandra hit a Mahistoral cradle on Koda, pinning him in the ring as Jack climbed the steps up onto the ring apron.

"Nice work Alessandra." He complimented her. "That shoulder of yours looks like it's getting there."

"It feel very good." Alessandra said with a smile, beginning to rotate it to make the point. "I expect doctor to clear to wrestle soon."

"Mind if I have a moment with Kevin?" He asked.

"Koda." Koda corrected him, looking a little confused. Jack seemed just as confused.

"Isn't that what I said?" He asked, before shaking it off. "Whatever, there's a show in Harwood tonight that's kind of important. We want you to come along."

"Harwood?" He asked. "Tonight?"

"The promoter's happy for you to work security." Jack informed him. "I've got something planned to introduce you to the crowd. That way when the Amber Beach show comes around, the crowd will be ready for our tag match."

He looked to Alessandra.

"She can attest to the fact, these guys don't exactly play nice, so I wanted to go over some stuff that should help you keep ahead of the game with them." Jack continued. "They like to try and push rookies around, but I have a feeling you shouldn't have too much trouble pushing back. Now, could you give us the ring?"

Alessandra just nodded, coming over and kissing Koda on the cheek.

"Listen to Jack." She told him. "He teach a lot."

As she left the ring, Jack just looked to Koda, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you two...?" Koda just nodded with a gleeful look on his face. "Damn, I go on tour for a couple of weeks and I miss everything. Nicely done Kevin."

"Koda." Koda corrected him again.

"Right...anyway, lock up." With that, they locked into a collar-and-elbow tie up.

Back at the Dino Lab, Matt was sitting, waiting as Kendall came back with a couple of coffees. She had a huge smile on her face as she put the coffee down next to him.

"I can't believe you came. I wasn't expecting you or your mom until tomorrow." Kendall told him still smiling brightly to see him. Matt just smiled back as he took a sip.

"We got into town a little while back, we're at the motel on the freeway on-ramp." He informed her. "We were trying to keep out of sight until tomorrow."

Kendall wasn't the most nurturing of people by nature, but she had come to care for her Rangers a great deal. Seeing the way Chase had lit up on seeing Chloe again, she had decided to take the opportunity to do something similar for Riley. One of the applications on the work rotation programme she used to manage the museum rotas was that it put up an alert whenever an employee's birthday was coming up within a month. It was really done so that she could put together a token gesture, to buy a card for the other workers to sign and give to the employee on their birthday. Of course, Riley wasn't just some other employee. She had arranged for Matt and Mrs Griffin to come to town to surprise him on his birthday.

"I saw the lights were off, and I saw the closed sign, but I figured you'd be here anyway." He continued.

"I knew you were coming tomorrow, but this is a nice surprise." She admitted.

"It was a nice surprise for me too." He chuckled. "I was sure I'd still be grounded after the storm."

"Yeah, that reminds me." She said as she leaned over and punched him hard in the chest. Matt looked stunned, but not overly surprised by her reaction. This was the first time she had seen him since he had run into a burning building to save some of his townspeople. "Don't you dare scare me like that again!"

She settled back down, but smiled as she did so. She was genuinely happy to see him, and she was relieved that she was safe. Not to mention it was unbearably cute to imagine a 24 year old man who could still be "grounded" by his mother.

"I'm sorry I scared you, but believe me I was far more scared when I was in there." He told her. "Thank God for that robot."

"Did you ever find out where that robot came from?" She asked him.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He responded as he put his mug aside, cradling her cheek with his hand. "Besides, does it matter?"

"I...guess not." She answered as she drew in, kissing him passionately. Neither of them noticed as someone entered the lab.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt." Phillipe responded as he entered the lab. He was a little surprised as they both turned around, almost as surprised as they seemed to be. He couldn't believe it when he saw them both. "Matt?"

"Phillipe?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"

"You know each other?" Kendall asked as she noted the fact they seemed to recognise each other.

"I had the pleasure of spending a little time in Millport before I came back to town." Phillipe informed her, shaking Matt's hand warmly. "Matt here was...most welcoming."

"It's good to see you again too." Matt said, before looking to Kendall. "Um...should he be...you know...here?"

"Phillipe, Matt knows." Kendall sighed. "Matt, Phillipe is the new Graphite Ranger."

"You're a Ranger now?" Matt asked him. "Well, I guess all that hard work paid off."

"Well, I did only begin this week, but hopefully I will live up to the role." Phillipe responded. "Ms Morgan, I wished to speak with you and your team about a couple of matters...they don't appear to be here though."

"What can I help you with?" Kendall asked him.

"First things first, I'm planning on having the treasures of Zandar on display at the Embassy. I'm sure the exhibit is just taking up room by now."

"They are your property; you can collect them whenever you want." She answered. "Thanks for letting us display them for this long."

"Well, I won't leave you empty-handed." Phillipe continued. "I believe you received my delivery, the Pachysaurus. I will have the head delivered to the museum this afternoon."

"You delivered that?" Kendall asked him. Just then, it made sense. The reason the head was missing, Phillipe had it, that was where the Energem had been. She felt her temper flaring up again. "You didn't think to tell me that before I went to all the effort of having a replacement made?"

"Oh...um...sorry, I didn't really think about that." He admitted as he thought about it. "Also, the Embassy is opening tomorrow evening. I'm holding a costume party there to mark the occasion. I was hoping you and the others would attend."

"That's a very generous offer but we have plans." Kendall rushed out, pulling in to Matt. "It's Riley's birthday tomorrow, we're arranging a surprise..."

"Well, that is just PERFECT!" Phillipe responded as he heard this. "There are more than a few side-rooms in the Embassy, I'm sure we can set up a private party in one of them."

"Phillipe..."

"Don't worry about the cake or the supplies, I'll arrange everything." He told her as he was heading out the door. "I look forward to seeing you all there."

"But Phillipe...!"

"Don't worry; I won't take up any more of your time. I can see when I'm interrupting." He said as he got onto the elevator. "I'll see you then."

With that, the door to the elevator closed. Kendall just growled a little.

"He's definitely...something else, isn't he?" Matt asked her.

"I'm sure I could think of a few words to describe him." She replied. "Now we have to go and find costumes for tomorrow night."

"Well I'm sure we have some time for that." He replied, taking her coffee from her. "Now, where were we again?"

With that, he wrapped her in his arms, pulling her back into himself. Kendall was still a little put out by the 'invitation' Phillipe had extended, but right about now, that wasn't really what she was concerned about.

Back in the dunes outside of town, Tyler, Riley, Chase, Ivan, Allison and Chloe all arrived at the top of the largest dune, looking down to the clearing where their truck was parked. As they stood atop the dune, looking down, there were a couple of them having second thoughts.

"I was thinking of something a tad less...vertical." Ivan said with a little gulp. Chase just laughed.

"Come on man, it'll be a blast." Chase told him, handing him a sheet of cardboard.

"It looks a lot bigger from up here." Riley said hesitantly.

"Perhaps a little too big." Ivan suggested, looking down the line. "Anyone?"

"God, you are all such a bunch of cissies." Chloe giggled as she looked to Allison. "And to think, I used to think the Aussies were a bunch of wimps!"

With that she ran and threw herself belly-first onto a sheet of cardboard, shooting down the dune, screeching and laughing as she went.

"Oh, you are going to pay for that one!" Allison replied as she leapt onto a sandboard, surfing it down the dune. Chase just shrugged.

"Do you really want to say you were scared of something an eight-year-old would do?" He asked them. With that, he too hopped onto his sandboard, surfing down the dune. Tyler and the others looked to each other, before launching themselves after them belly-first.

A little way off, Shearfear was waiting in hiding, observing the Rangers and their friends. He brought down his viewing glass, seeing the bonds between them.

"Yes, just as I thought their friendships are obvious." He commented. "It is little wonder they fight so well together. Anyone would have a hard time competing with a team like that."

He started to make his way closer, keeping close to cover as he went.

"Let's just see how well they fight together when those bonds of trust are gone!" He commented as he started to get closer. He grabbed his scissors as he approached Chase, who was at the bottom of the dune with Chloe and Allison.

"Chase, look out!" Riley yelled. Chase turned in time to see him with his scissors poised to strike. Shearfear saw the Black Ranger turn to see him and realised he had been rumbled. Among the dunes, there was far too much open space. He had been spotted before he could strike. He brought back his scissors attempting to club Chase with them, only to be kicked away.

"Take a load off!" Tyler said as he slid down fast, taking Shearfear's feet out from under him. The monster got back to his feet and started to back away.

"Looks like it's time to cut and run!" He stammered out as he ran away. The Rangers wanted to pursue, but with Chloe there, they had to be mindful of their behaviour. For most right-thinking people without powers, if a monster was running away, they would count their blessings and just let them go. As much as they wanted to know why a monster had shown up here and attacked them, they had to remember that Chloe was still there and would see everything.

"That was another one of those monsters." Chloe stated. "What was it doing here? Why would it attack us?"

"Um..."

"Why would a monster do anything?" Allison asked, making the save for Chase. "I don't think they need a reason to attack people."

"Come on, we should be getting back." Chase replied picking up Chloe. "We can't be sure he really ran. He might just be coming around again."

As he headed back to the truck, Tyler just picked up one of the sheets of cardboard.

"Has anyone ever noticed how we always seem to clear up after him?" Tyler asked. Allison just picked up her sandboard.

"Come on, he needs to be sure Chloe's safe." She reminded him. "After that, we can figure out what that thing wanted."

Back at the gym, Jack was working with Jack, preparing for the night ahead in Harwood. Although Koda wouldn't be involved in an actual match, he was still going to be actively involved in a show for the first time. Koda hit the mat after a hard slam from Jack.

"See, what did I tell you?" Jack asked him. "If the other guy sandbags you, that's a sure-fire way to make him stiffen up. Once that happens, he's a lot easier to lift."

Koda just nodded breathlessly as he started to get back to his feet. Jack was about to lock up with him again, but Koda backed into the corner, holding up a hand to beg off. He had faced off against some of the strongest monsters imaginable, but it still astounded him how resilient Jack was. It was barely a day since he had been left lying after yet another assault at the hands of the Kollosal Koallition. He just smiled and backed off.

"Alright, I'll give you a bit of a breather. Then, there's one more thing I want to show you." Jack told him. "Trust me, if they're uncooperative, this is sure to put them in their place."

With that, he went to a corner to get something out of his bag. Alessandra slid into the ring and approached Koda.

"You do very well." She complimented him. "You alright?"

"Need catch breath." Koda told her. "Jack hit very hard."

"Jack know a lot of dirty tricks." She chuckled. Jack had been in the business for over 30 years. He had dealt with people who had come from the real old school mentality where they would push around less experienced workers purportedly on the grounds of making them 'pay their dues', but mainly just because they could get away with it. Jack had learned from the best how to defend himself if someone tried to take things too far. He knew how to shoot, or legitimately wrestle to hurt someone, and he did indeed know a lot of dirty tricks that would make a point, without making it obvious to the audience that the match was in danger of breaking down into a legitimate brawl. It was a brave or stupid man that took liberties with Jack Malone.

"I believe, very much pain." Koda responded as he looked to her. He smiled.

"You be at show?" He asked her. She just smiled and nodded. One of the advantages of her gimmick was the fact she never appeared without her mask in front of a crowd. It meant that she could go to a show and sit as a spectator without any of the fans realising that she was there.

"I already have ticket." She told him. "Front row."

Koda picked her up, holding her in his arms excitedly. Jack put some pills in his mouth, washing it down with some water.

"Alright Kevin, we have a few minutes before we're heading to Harwood." Jack told him, getting back into the ring. "So, I'm just going to show you one more thing, and trust me, if you do this, it's bound to finish a match, so only do this if you're in serious danger."

"Koda." Alessandra corrected him. Jack just shook his head.

"Right...that's what I meant." He responded, preparing to lock up.

Koda just let out a little whimper as he prepared to lock up with Jack one more time.


	18. A Royal Invitation

Tyler, Riley, Chase, Ivan, Allison and Chloe all arrived back at the museum, finding Shelby in the main restaurant studying hard. She had, unfortunately, been so busy that she had let some of the online courses Kendall had recommended slide lately. It wasn't as if anyone who knew her secret could blame her for having to prioritise, but to her parents, it just looked like she was slacking off on a career path she had always assured them wouldn't end with her just treading water, flipping burgers and running the occasional tour for the rest of her days. She was determined to prove to them she was still serious about ending up in college studying Palaeontology for real, but so far it looked like a pipe dream. She still needed money for that, since her parents had said they wouldn't foot the bill since they weren't convinced it had real career prospects, and so in addition to her work in the museum, she was taking these online courses to boost her CV, hoping perhaps to earn at least a partial scholarship. She looked up as she saw the others arriving.

"Hey guys, I thought we were meeting at your place later." Shelby said as she looked at them, a little surprised to see them so early. "How was sandboarding?"

"It was a little more..."

"We were attacked by a monster!" Chloe rushed out excitedly, interrupting her brother. Shelby just looked to her.

"A monster?" She asked.

"We thought we should come back here and tell Ms Morgan about it." Riley told her. Chloe just looked confused and turned to look up at him.

"You came to tell your boss?" She asked. "Why?"

Tyler, Riley, Ivan and Chase all looked at each other a little awkwardly. It was a valid question, and one that they really should have seen coming, but they were concentrating so much on the situation in hand, none of them had stopped to think how odd this looked to Chloe. Allison rolled her eyes as she realised she was going to have to bail them out before Chloe started to read too much into this questioning.

"Well, a lot of places those Rangers have had battles, new Dinozords have awakened." Allison explained. "Well...a lot of fresh fossils have been found around those areas. Ms Morgan has a theory that the Dinozords were at one time Dinosaurs that were turned into Zords somehow."

"Uh...yeah, that's right!" Chase agreed, seeing his girlfriend had made a great get-out for their ineptitude at finding a convincing lie. It was true that a lot of fossils had been found around the sites the Dinozords had awakened...of course in Amber Beach it was virtually impossible to go ANYWHERE without walking over a few dozen fossils. The trick was finding some that were both of the quality and uniqueness that made them worth displaying in the museum. "We sometimes go to check out those areas once we know they're clear."

"Isn't that kind of...dangerous?" Chloe asked. "What if the monsters go back?"

"We wait until after we see them go boom." Shelby added. "You know the local news is pretty quick to show the Ranger battles on the TV, especially when the Rangers win."

They all looked to Chloe, who seemed to be mulling over this new information, almost like she wasn't quite convinced. Eventually, she smiled.

"I guess that makes sense." She added. "Just promise me you won't go before you're sure that big pair of scissors is destroyed."

"Trust me; I have NO desire to run into that thing again anytime soon." Chase assured her, taking a carton of milk from the fridge and starting to drink from it. Tyler seeing this just felt his temper flaring up. It was bad enough that Chase sometimes did things like that at home, a "room-mate foul" he had committed more than a few times, but this was the cafe! That milk wasn't even theirs; it was for use in the cafe.

"For the love of God Chase, seriously?" He called out as he got to his feet. "What the HELL?"

"Uh...I was thirsty." He said.

"There are these magical things called glasses Chase!" Tyler ranted. "That milk isn't for you, it's meant to be for everyone! Now we can't use it! Do you have any idea what would happen if a health inspector saw you do that and put it back?"

"I'll replace it alright?" He said, looking a little put out.

"I'm going to find Ms Morgan." He responded, storming out of the room. "Try not to hoover down ALL of our stock in the meantime."

With that, he headed out of the room. Chase just watched him go. He knew that it irritated Tyler and Chase when he did stuff like that, but this time, Tyler didn't just complain, this time he was outright yelling at him over it! Tyler was a pretty laid-back guy all things considered, he couldn't remember him ever getting really worked up like that.

"What put a bug up his arse?" Chase asked. "It's just one carton; we have a delivery coming in a couple of days from now."

"To be fair, that isn't really yours to take." Riley conceded as he gestured to the carton. "We all know Ms Morgan doesn't mind us taking the odd snack, but that's a whole carton of milk we can't use. That's like 30 Cappuccinos we've just lost the potential of selling."

Up on Sledge's ship, Shear fear was cowering as Sledge ranted about his failure with the Rangers. He had high hopes for his plan to disrupt the Ranger's ability to fight by disrupting their teamwork.

"I TOLD you to find a way to sever their friendships WITHOUT exposing yourself!" He roared angrily. "That clearing had next to no cover! You were bound to be seen!"

"I did try and sneak up on them..."

"You didn't even snip ONE friendship bond!" Sledge reminded him. "Now the Rangers know we're up to something!"

"I'm sorry Master Sledge, please, give me another chance!" Shearfear begged him. Just then, Poisandra came skipping into the room.

"Oh, that Curio is just impossible to live with! Can't you knock the stuffing out of him for me Sledgeums?" She asked him. He just groaned as he cradled his face in his hands. Shearfear had only managed to snip one friendship bond successfully so far, the one between Poisandra and Curio. He had the creature created in the first place to keep her distracted, to keep her occupied and out of the way while he was plotting his next move to attain the Energems. Now though, she had nothing better to do but to whine about everything that annoyed her about the pillow creature.

"What's he done now?" He grumbled.

"He takes up the whole couch while I'm trying to watch the TV!" She said with a pout.

"He's made of pillows!" He reminded her. "You usually lean on him while you watch TV!"

"But he's all smelly and he makes a really annoying noise when he breathes." She told him. "I can barely watch Glitz World."

"That stupid gossip show?" Sledge asked her.

"Hey! It's not stupid! It's really great!" She whined. "Tonight, they had an exclusive announcement about the Prince of Zandar!"

"Wow, why don't you tell me just what he's doing?" Sledge responded sarcastically. Poisandra didn't seem to catch that sarcasm though.

"He's opening his Embassy tomorrow night; apparently he's having a massive costume party there!" She told Sledge. "Everyone that's anyone is going to be there! He's invited all the local dignitaries, and he's even put out an open invitation to the whole city!"

"Wait, a costume party?" He asked, considering this new information. He thought about it for a while. This was indeed interesting news. He knew that the Prince had recently acquired the Graphite Energem, and the Rangers always seemed to be together. It seemed likely that they would be at the party. He looked to Shearfear.

"I think I have an idea." He responded, a wicked smile crossing his face beneath his mask. "How are you at dancing?"

Over in Harwood, Alessandra, Jack and Koda arrived at the arena for the evening, this time a bingo hall in the middle of the city. Jack looked around as the ring crew got to work setting up the ring.

"Damn it Reggie, where are you?" Jack muttered as he looked for the promoter.

"Yo Jack, you look like you healed up nicely!" Eddie called out as he and Vinny saw him arriving. They were sitting on the entrance ramp, smoking spliffs casually as they waited for the show to begin. "That was a pretty sick bump you took."

"It would have been a lot worse if you'd missed the table." He replied with a forced smile. Vinny had powerbombed him over the top to the outside through the time-keeper's table. Unfortunately, he had almost completely messed up the distance and missed the table. Jack had hit it and gone through, but he didn't catch it clean, meaning the back of his head had hit the floor. He had been out for a couple of minutes, but it was nothing new for him. He was just happy he hadn't missed completely, that would have potentially broken his neck! "Where's Reggie?"

"He's around somewhere. He was heading out to pick up some food for the boys." Vinny told him. He then looked aside, seeing Koda and Alessandra. "I didn't know she was booked."

"I not working, here to watch." She told them. "I still not cleared to wrestle."

"When has that ever stopped anyone?" Eddie snorted. It was true that a lot of workers, just through needing the money regularly worked with injuries that should put them on the bench. Since it wasn't a "legitimate" sport, it wasn't like there were any governing bodies to satisfy that people were healthy enough to perform, that decision lay entirely with the promoter. It wasn't as if the guy earning the majority of the gate would refuse if someone he had advertised insisted on going on. "I mean, you dropped me on my head..."

"Your fault!" Alessandra snapped at him. Koda let out a low growl as she recounted this. It was Eddie's refusal to cooperate with her that had led to the botch that injured them both, but he was still blaming her for the accident. Eddie just smirked.

"Whoa, settle down there." He said with a little chuckle, looking to Jack. "So, this is the new kid?"

"Koda!" Koda barked at him. Eddie just elicited a little whooing noise and shook his hands in the air, as if he was afraid, but his smile betrayed the sarcasm in his gesture.

"He's an intense one." He responded, approaching him. "Wait, you were working security that night weren't you?"

"This will be his first appearance." Jack told them. "He'll interfere in the beatdown and help me chase you off."

"His first...you mean he's completely green?" Vinny said as he squared up to Koda. He was taller than him by a good margin, and quite a bit thicker too. He looked to Koda, and then gave a hand gesture from his head, going over Koda's. He looked back to Jack. "I think you might have taken one too many chair shots Jack."

"Try saying that when we're through with you." Jack assured him. "The kid's one of the best rookies I've seen in ages. You'll see."

"I guess we will." Eddie laughed as they walked away. "Come on Vinny..."

"Wait, we not plan..."

"How's this for a plan kid, we're the heels you're the faces." Eddie interrupted Koda. "If you're as good as Jack says, you shouldn't have any trouble keeping up."

With that, they walked away. Koda just growled.

"Not like them." He stated bluntly.

"I don't either kid, just think about the show." Jack responded. Just then, the promoter arrived.

"Hey, Jack, good to see you again. Alessandra, shame you aren't working tonight, I'd have liked to see you against Ricochet." He stated.

"I be back soon." She told him. "Will be at Amber Beach show."

"I might just have to talk Carl into making that match." He said with a smile. "I'm sure the fans would love it. So, I take it this is Koda?"

"Yes." Koda responded with a smile. The promoter just looked to him.

"Alright, you're working security up until Jack's getting the beatdown, so wear this to blend in." He told Koda, handing him a security T-shirt. Koda pulled off his shirt, handing it to Alessandra, before putting on his security T-shirt. Reggie was just staring at him.

"Hot DAMN he's a beast!" He commented, looking to Jack. "You weren't kidding!"

"The kid's got a look." Jack told him. Reggie just gestured Koda in.

"Do me a favour kid, when you hit the ring, make sure you lose the shirt." He told him. "Believe me, the fans will go nuts."

"I not want lose, this your shirt." Koda replied. "I give back..."

"Keep the damn shirt kid; I've got a hundred of them!" He laughed. "You really know how to pick them Jack, I'll give you that! The face's dressing room is in the back, third door on the right."

With that, he walked away, leaving them to it. Koda gestured to the shirt.

"Why he want me lose shirt?" Koda asked. Alessandra just giggled.

"You look good without." She explained. "You keep shirt, just...take off while in ring."

"Well, I'll just leave you two to make goo goo eyes at each other." Jack responded as he hefted his bag onto his shoulder. "I'll see you out there kid."

Back in Amber Beach, Kendall returned to the cafe with Tyler. Matt was still down in the lab, since Riley still had no idea he and his mom were in town. Despite the new development, Kendall really didn't want to spoil the surprise for Riley's birthday. She looked to the others.

"So, Tyler says you were attacked?" Kendall asked.

"Yeah, one of those monsters that's been seen around the city showed up." Chase told her. "We're not sure why."

"Well, we all know what this means." She replied, looking around. She had to be mindful of what she said around Chloe. "So, we need to be ready to move when the time is right."

"Wait, shouldn't Koda hear all this?" Chase asked.

"Sure, now you think of other people." Tyler muttered under his breath. Kendall just looked to him, before turning back to the others.

"Koda's out of town, he'll be back tomorrow, I'll make sure he's caught up." She told them. "In the meantime, the museum will be closed tomorrow."

"The museum will be closed again?" Riley asked. "Why?"

"We need to look for costumes." Kendall told them. This did nothing to ease their confusion. "The Prince is opening his Embassy tomorrow. I doubt we'll do much business, all the attention will be focused there."

"The Prince?" Chloe asked, suddenly becoming interested in the conversation. "You mean Prince Phillipe?"

"Prince Phillipe is opening the doors tomorrow with a tour for Chloe's class in the morning." Kendall told them. Chloe started bouncing with excitement to hear this.

"We get to tour the Embassy?" She asked. "Do you think he'll be taking the tour? Do you think he'll be there?"

"Then, by Royal Decree, we're all meant to go to a costume party that night." Kendall sighed. "Which means we now all have one night to find costumes."

"A costume party?" Chloe shrieked. "Can I go Chase? Can I?"

"I'm not too sure how mom will feel if..."

"Come ON! Mom's all the way in New Zealand! How will she know if I'm up a little past curfew?" Chloe said, looking to him with her cutest possible face. "Please Chase, please, pretty, pretty please?"

"I...guess one late night won't kill you." He replied. Chloe virtually leapt the whole length of the room to tackle-hug him.

"You are the greatest brother EVER!" She shrieked. "I need a costume! I need to go shopping..."

"I think I can help with that." Allison told her, taking Chloe by the hand. "I know a great place nearby. Hopefully we can get there before the locals ransack the place."

As they left, Kendall looked to the others.

"Alright, until that monster comes back, we have to assume it's still out there and could be back at any time." Kendall told them. "In the meantime, we just have to be on our guard and hope for the best."

"And get ourselves some costumes." Riley stated. "Wait...I finally have an excuse to wear my surcoat! I can go as a knight!"

"I believe I may have some spare mail which would fit you." Ivan stated. "Come, we shall check."

With that, they left the room. Chase leaned in.

"I thought we were having Riley's surprise party here tomorrow." He commented. Kendall just shrugged.

"Phillipe said he'd set up something." She told him. "He was doing that irritating thing where he wasn't hearing the word no."

"I guess it could be fun though." Chase said with a little smile. "I need to think about what I'll wear! I'll see you around!"

As they all left, Kendall headed back to the lab. She had a lot to deal with now. Not only did she have to figure out what this latest monster wanted and what Sledge had planned for them now, she also had to find a costume to wear to a party she never even wanted to go to. It wasn't like she got to see Matt often, she was hoping for a little quiet time with him while he was in town. Now, Phillipe hadn't just hijacked the surprise party, he had taken that from her as well.


	19. Koda's Debut

That night, in Harwood, the show progressed well, and by the time intermission came around, the atmosphere was buzzing. The concession stands were struggling to keep up with demand, the merchandise guys couldn't keep their wares on the table, and a few performers were out posing for pics with the fans. Everything was electric, and everyone was having a great time...well...almost everyone.

Currently, Koda had left his position at ringside while the action had subsided, and was currently in a bathroom, throwing up in a cubicle. His stomach just wouldn't quit twisting and churning. He knew he wasn't sick, hell; he had taken Jack's advice to load up on protein before the show...by eating three full chickens on the way to Harwood! He had felt sick before and knew this wasn't how it felt. This had all started as he got closer and closer to his spot on the show.

Things were already going great with the show! Every match had been better than the last, building the crowd to a frenzy. It was deafening to be out there, standing at ringside. As he continued to perform his security duties, he suddenly became pointedly aware of how many people were there! The place was crowded! Screaming fans were everywhere...and soon he would be out there, in front of them...all staring right at him!

It didn't help that the other performers kept outdoing each other with each progressing match. Koda knew that his first performance was going to be hugely important in how the fans would receive him. He had heard many of his friends at the gym telling him stories of their own first performances ever since they heard he was debuting, and they had quite a mixed bag. One guy had ended up getting a huge round of applause from a very aggressive crowd in Philly who had began the match booing him loudly and calling for the promoter to be fired for daring to put a rookie in the ring with their local hero, only to turn around and embrace him when his hard work and willingness to take punishment earned their respect. Another had the opposite experience, when he accidentally broke another performer's arm with a botched move earning him the dreaded "You Fucked Up!" Chant, a huge, loud rant from the promoter and nearly four months of every menial job in the promotion before anyone trusted him to enter the ring again! In short, Koda knew that his first performance was crucial!

As he finished losing his meal, he headed out into the bathroom, finding to his shock a girl standing there. They both screamed in shock, but it quickly subsided as they realised that they knew each other.

"Koda?" Gia asked. Koda recognised the former Yellow Corsair Ranger.

"Gia?" He asked. "What you do here?"

"It's...the girl's room." She informed him. Koda looked around and realised there were no urinals! He just looked to her sheepishly.

"I sorry...I in hurry to find bathroom." He told her. "Guess I take wrong turn." Gia just nodded.

"From the sounds you were making, I can understand you being in a hurry." She agreed. It was only then that she realised that he was wearing a security T-shirt. "Wait, you're working here tonight?"

"I start to wrestle a while ago." Koda told her. "Not know you like."

"I'm not really THAT into it." Gia conceded. "I'm here with Cat; she was hoping to meet El Jaguar. She was disappointed that she wasn't working tonight...I think she might have a bit of a thing for her."

She looked to Koda who was still looking a little upset about something. As someone else came into the bathroom, she just glared at her.

"Can we help you?" She asked. The other fan just started to stammer. "I'm sure you can find somewhere else in a place this size. Do you mind?"

The other girl just left. Gia looked to him.

"So, what's got you rattled big guy?" She asked him.

"I not meant to say." He said. "Not talk about show..."

"Koda, we share some of the biggest secrets on the planet." Gia reminded him with a smile. "I think I can keep quiet about the results of a wrestling show."

He looked around nervously. He knew one of the cardinal rules of the business was not to give away the results. During the Monday Night War, Eric Bischoff took advantage of the fact WWF Raw was pre-recorded while Nitro was broadcast live by breaking this rule and broadcasting their results so that fans would watch Nitro instead of Raw. It backfired spectacularly on the night Mick Foley won his first World Title, underestimating his popularity and ending the streak of WCW defeating WWF in the ratings.

Koda pulled in closer.

"I work tonight." She told him. "As wrestler."

"You're wrestling tonight?" Gia said, looking delighted to hear that he would be getting to perform. "But...why the security shirt?"

"Jack meant to be attacked after main event." Koda told her. "I go save."

"That's great Koda." She replied, before looking to the cubicle. "So why all the nerves?"

"My first performance." He admitted. "So many people, afraid I make mistake...ruin show."

"Koda, everyone has moments like that." She told him.

"You not understand, everyone else so good! Show really great!" Koda responded. "I mess up..."

"Listen, I don't claim to know much about how all this is done, but I doubt they'd let you have this if they didn't think you were ready." Gia assured him. "Besides, the guys you're working with have been doing this for ages! I'm sure they'll help out."

"Not so sure about Kolossal Koallition." He grumbled. Gia rolled her eyes.

"Look, you know what we've already been through. You have great instincts out there Koda. Just...try to think of it as one of our battles." She suggested. "Everyone gets nervous. You should have seen me before my wedding; I was in a full-blown psychosis."

"You think I do alright?" He asked her. She just nodded.

"I'm sure you'll be great!" She told him. "And if it makes you feel any better, there'll be at least one fan chanting for you!"

Just then, Alessandra came bursting in. She had been frantically searching for Koda since he had run off. She saw him and came over.

"Koda! I look all over, I so worried!" She rushed out as she grabbed him tightly.

"He just...really needed a bathroom." Gia told her. Alessandra looked to Gia, and then back to Koda.

"This Gia, she good friend!" Koda assured her. Alessandra just looked to Gia, and she couldn't help wondering where Koda knew her from. As far as she knew, Koda didn't really have a huge circle of friends. There were the guys he worked with, the guys from the gym. There was some kid named Billy that he saw on occasion that apparently taught him to ride a bike, but she didn't know that he knew anyone from out of town. She couldn't help noticing that Gia was a beautiful woman, and round about Koda's age! She instinctively held Koda as closely as possible. "This Alessandra."

"You have a girlfriend now?" Gia said, sounding delighted. "Oh my God, Koda that's great! She is absolutely gorgeous! Wow! I'm really pleased to meet you!"

Alessandra politely shook Gia's hand. Gia just smiled.

"Koda, we need get back, show about to start back." Alessandra reminded him. Gia realised she had been gone a while.

"I should be getting back too." She responded. "Cat's going to send out a search party if I don't. She's a little clingy, but it's one of the things I love about her."

Alessandra couldn't help noticing her say this, and suddenly she started to smile a little. There was a very open culture in locker rooms. She had met more than one performer that was open with their sexuality. She couldn't help feeling like she'd like Gia a lot more knowing that she had a girlfriend.

"So are you feeling better now?" Gia asked. Koda just nodded. "I guess I'll see you out there."

With that, they all left just as the announcement of the second half of the show went out.

Back in Amber Beach, Kendall and Matt were sitting in the Dino Lab, watching a movie on the viewing screen. They couldn't risk going out for the night, since they didn't want to risk running into Riley and ruining the surprise for his birthday. It didn't really bother Matt, he was happy just to spend time with Kendall. Koda had plenty of pelts in his cave that made great blankets that kept them nice and warm, and as for the movie, the benefit of having a powerful supercomputer was that it wasn't exactly difficult for Kendall to find something they could watch. It wasn't like most online movie networks had anything like the kind of security that would give her any real difficulty to "borrow" a movie for the night.

Matt had Kendall in his arms, holding her into himself as they watched. He was happy to be there with her, but she was very quiet for her usual self. He knew she was still annoyed by the way that Prince Phillipe seemed to be sweeping in and taking over. Having spent time with and trained with Phillipe, he was certain it was just enthusiasm getting the better of him. However, while Kendall had planned a surprise party for weeks for Riley, Phillipe had just swooped in and changed everyone's plans, forcefully inviting them to his costume party at the Embassy, and even said he would arrange a side-room for a surprise party when Kendall explained that they already had plans.

That was only one more thing though. One of the things Kendall had told him about was her aunt's legacy, and how much she had idolised Kendrix as a kid. Telling him all about her battles, he could understand how Kendall had to admire and idolise her growing up. As a hero, it was pretty hard to find a better role model. He knew that when she had been invited to assist the latest Ranger project, she had leapt at the chance. There were a million and one other things she could have done which would have made her a very wealthy woman if she wanted, but instead she had gone down a path that brought her closer to her aunt's legacy. He even knew that in her heart, with the unbounded Energems out in the world, her fondest wish ever since she joined the project was to become a Ranger herself.

Now that the number of unbonded Energems was running out, she was beginning to feel left out, cheated, and rejected. As the movie ended, he shut it off and held her to himself.

"You know, I don't claim to be much of an expert, but I thought it was customary on a date that the couple at least talk to each other." He teased her. Kendall just looked up to him.

"I'm sorry; I know I've not been much in the way of company." She sighed.

"Look, I'm sure Phillipe's just trying to be nice. He's really not that bad of a guy. Sure, he's a little...full-on at times, but his heart is in the right place." He told her, hoping he could bring her out of her mood. "He's really helped Millport get back on their feet, everything's already almost back to normal. And hey, I know I'd probably not be here if it wasn't for that robot of his."

"Yeah, he's a real Prince alright." She muttered. Matt could see that singing his praises wasn't exactly going to improve her mood much. He decided to try another approach.

"You know, I don't think I told you how we met." He told her. Kendall didn't seem to be too interested. "Would you be interested to know I kicked his ass?"

Kendall suddenly looked around, surprised to hear this.

"You did?" She asked, suddenly becoming interested. "What happened?"

"He was in some kind of scuffle with the Fisher boys. I've had a few scuffles with them myself over the years, so I knew they probably deserved the ass-kicking he was giving them." He told her. "But where I come from, you only go until the other guy is finished. When he took it too far, I invited him outside and left him lying in the street."

Kendall had to try hard to stifle a smile hearing that Phillipe had been humbled like that. Matt noticed though, and knew it had lifted her mood a little.

"After that, he came and apologised to me and we trained together for a while." Matt continued. "You know, once you get past all the pomp and swagger he really isn't that bad a guy."

"I'm sure." She replied, huddling into him. "I know I'm just being bitter about all this. I know he has to be a good person if the Graphite Energem chose him, but I couldn't help thinking...it chose HIM over ME?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much." He said with a smile. "Besides, I don't really think Grey is your colour."

"I suppose my wardrobe would be a little boring." She chuckled. "Thanks."

With that, she pulled in, kissing him softly. As they started to sink down towards the floor, Kendall pulled the pelt around them both.

Back in Harwood, the main event had the entire crowd on their feet. It was a singles match between Vinny and Jack, with Eddie at ringside as a "manager". Jack hit the floor as Vinny clocked him with a sloppy clothesline that rattled his jaw. Vinny went to one of the corners, grabbing the protective pad on the turnbuckle and ripped it clean off, launching it into the crowd as they booed loudly. The referee rebuked him for exposing the steel, but Vinny ignored him, just going back to Jack, who was struggling back to his feet.

Vinny grabbed him and whipped him towards the corner, looking to slam him into the exposed steel. Jack saw it though and stopped himself, placing his foot on the middle rope to stop him before he hit the buckle. Turning around, he was in time to see Vinny charging in. Side-stepping him, Vinny ploughed into the exposed steel like a raging bull, taking it straight in the chest. The crowd erupted, seeing Vinny hoist by his own petard. Jack was quickly behind him, grabbing him around the waist and powering him over into a German suplex, pinning his shoulders to the mat.

"ONE! TWO!..." The crowd chanted as the referee began to make the count. Before he could count the three count though, Eddie had rolled into the ring with a cane and started to beat on Jack. The referee tried to intervene, only for Vinny to grab him and throw him out the ring as the crowd booed loudly. Koda started to prepare himself, there was only one thing left. Eddie and Vinny picked Jack up and drove him head-first into the metal turnbuckle. He hit the ground and clutched his face, rolling on the floor as Eddie and Vinny continued to beat on him.

This was Koda's cue. He ran, sliding into the ring and grabbed Vinny, beginning to punch him rapidly, driving him back. He hit the opposite ropes, driving the huge man over the top to the outside of the ring.

Turning his attention to Eddie, he was in time to catch the cane as he swung it for him. He grabbed it, ripping it from Eddie's hand and throwing it down dismissively. He grabbed Eddie, preparing for the final spot, trying to lift him for a gorilla press, a move which required him to lift the man above his head. Ordinarily, the opponent would put his hands on the man doing the lift's shoulder and jump, stiffening up to make the lift easier. However, as Koda tried the lift, Eddie started to go limp. He was sandbagging him in an attempt to sabotage the spot. Koda remembered one of the tricks Jack had taught him, and adjusting the grip on his lower hand, he grabbed a VERY sensitive area of Eddie's body, and squeezed HARD!

It was a trick used by fire fighters. Sometimes victims in a fire would panic, and would fight as a fireman attempted to carry them to safety. In the case of men, a very effective way to stop them fighting and make their muscles stiffen up quickly to make them easier to life was a swift blow in the crotch! There were often a lot of victims at fires with their legs crossed!*

As Eddie grew stiff, Koda, using nothing but pure power since he was receiving no assistance from Eddie at all, lifted him clean above his head and extended his arms to full stretch. He turned to the aisle, where Vinny was staggering on his feet, and threw Eddie out of the ring, straight on top of Vinny, spilling them both to the floor. Remembering what the promoter had told him, he pulled off his t-shirt, throwing it to the floor, and getting into a fighting stance, he let out a huge roar as the crowd went absolutely wild!

Jack, by now, was back on his feet, and made his way to Koda's side. Blood was running down his face from his forehead after the beating, giving him a gruesome look known as the "Crimson Mask". He rested a hand on Koda's shoulder as he grabbed a mike.

"You two jokers have been doing this two-on-one thing for too long!" Jack barked down the mike. "Let's see how you do in Amber Beach when the numbers aren't in your favour!"

He slapped Koda's shoulder.

"What's your name kid?" He asked. This was when Koda would introduce himself to the crowd.

"Koda!" He growled down the mike.

"What do you say? You two against me and Koda, Amber Beach, NO HOLDS BARRED!"

The crowd all cheered and applauded as the show drew to a close. Koda's heart was pounding as the crowd chanted his name, cheering loudly. He didn't want this moment to end, but as he left the ring to head into the back, he had the biggest smile on his face in his life. As he got there, he saw Jack sitting, smiling as he held some tissues to his face. He was smiling brightly.

"You did good kid!" He congratulated him. "The crowd went nuts out there! And the way you tossed Eddie? Hot DAMN you're a beast! I haven't seen anything like that!"

"Thanks Jack." Koda said, looking to him a little concerned. Jack just furrowed his brows.

"What?" He asked.

"You need see doctor." Koda told him. "You hurt."

"Trust me; I've taken bigger beatings than that." Jack chuckled. "For Eddie and Vinny that was tame."

"But...you bleed..."

"Oh, that?" Jack said with a smile. He put something in Koda's hand, before popping him on the shoulder. "Here's a souvenir for kid."

As Jack went to start getting cleaned up, Koda looked to his hand, seeing a tiny piece of razor, wrapped in tape to leave only a small point. This was one of the oldest tricks in wrestling. Jack had secreted that somewhere on his outfit before the match, and pulled it out just before the finish, when he hit the buckle. When he was on the floor and covered up, selling the blow to the head, that was to cover his face so no one would see him inflict the superficial cut on himself. A small nick of only a couple of millimetres would bleed a lot, and looked horrific, but if done correctly was relatively safe. Koda just stared after Jack and smiled.

 **A/N:** Sorry for the delay, little bout of ill health meant that writing sadly had to take a back seat recently. Also, the fire fighter's trick marked with a *...this is actually true!


	20. The First Embassy Tour

The following morning, Riley and Ivan were sitting, watching the television, eating some cereal while Chase came into the room, struggling to pull on his trainers. He stumbled into one of the walls as he hopped around, trying to pull it on.

"So, this Mr Squarepants. Why EXACTLY do people think his exploits are funny?" Ivan asked Riley as they ignored the Black Ranger's fumbling. He had managed to get his trainer on, but was working on the other, hopping around, almost knocking over a table.

"I don't think anyone does." Riley answered as he took a spoonful of cereal. Chase had moved on to pulling on his t-shirt, but because he couldn't see where he was going, he was bouncing around line a pinball.

"Then why does it seem like he's on every hour of the day?" Ivan asked.

"He's kind of the face of the brand. It's an animated show that Nick makes themselves, so it's practically free for them to fill the schedule with it. They actually have to pay actors and suchlike for their other shows, so they limit their time on the schedule."

"Even if those shows are vastly superior?" Ivan asked. The both pulled aside, just as Chase, still blinded by his t-shirt ran straight into the back of the couch and tripped over it, falling between them onto the floor. Riley gulped down his mouthful.

"Pretty much." He acknowledged. "That's economics for you."

"Foolish economics by the sounds of things." Ivan scoffed as Chase pulled himself off the floor, straightening out his T-shirt. "Are we in a hurry this morning Chase?"

"You guys aren't?" Chase asked. "I have no idea what to wear to this costume party! I need to go out and find something before every store is sold out!"

"Well we already have that covered." Riley told him with a smirk. He pulled out the surcoat he had been gifted at the tourney. "Phillipe's letting me borrow some of Ivan's spare armour."

"While he is only too happy to allow me to use my own." Ivan added. Chase just sighed.

"You're both going as knights?" He asked. "Isn't that kind of cheating?"

"At least WE don't have to brave the rush for last-minute costumes for the hottest party in the city." Riley teased him.

"Good point." Chase stated. "Unfortunately hindsight is 20/20."

Just then, they heard a huge scream from the shower.

"CHASE!" They heard Tyler's voice calling through. A moment later, the Red Ranger came storming through, wrapped in a towel and dripping wet. "Damn it Chase, you used ALL the hot water?"

"Tyler, calm down, you know what this place is like, the hot water tank is the size of a fishbowl. There are four people living here."

"What exactly am I meant to do?" Tyler asked. "Do you know how long it's going to take for the tank to heat back up?"

"I do not believe it was solely Chase's fault." Ivan pointed out, holding up a hand. "Riley and I both showered as well..."

"Chase, you are the most inconsiderate..."

"Listen, as much as I'd love to stay and get yelled at all day, I REALLY need to find myself a costume for tonight." Chase told him, grabbing his wallet and his keys and running out of the apartment.

"DAMN IT CHASE!" Tyler roared as the Black Ranger left. He just went back to his room to wait for the water tank to heat up. Riley just got up.

"I'm just going to the corner store." He informed Ivan.

"Now?" Ivan asked him. "Why?"

"If Tyler's this upset with Chase about the hot water, how pissed do you think he'll be that we finished the last of the cereal?" Riley asked him. Ivan thought about it for a moment.

"Best get some milk while you're at it." Ivan added. "I...may have made myself some chocolate milk."

Elsewhere in the city, Chloe's class arrived in their minivan outside the Zandarian Embassy. There was significant media attention, but Phillipe had already decided that he would keep the morning tour just for the kids. The media would have a guided tour in the afternoon before the costume party that night. As they disembarked, their teacher once again checked their appearance. Although he was pleased that fate had dropped an opportunity for learning like this right in his lap when he only really had some sightseeing planned for the remainder of their trip, he was also keenly aware that most of them were hoping this was going to be an extra holiday, and a lot of kids really weren't that interested in politics. Boredom and young kids could be a very dangerous combination in his experience.

Alright kids, Prince Phillipe has been kind enough to invite us. This is a tremendous opportunity for all of you. Try to listen to whatever your guide has to say, and be on your best behaviour! You aren't just representing your school; you're representing your country!"

He decided to check one last time that none of the kids were going to do anything to embarrass the school or give a bad impression of them. The kids all did look decidedly put out, and a little bored by the thought of spending a day hearing about a county none of them had ever heard of before. All except Chloe, who was hardly able to contain herself, her smile shining brightly as she awaited the opening ceremony. They didn't have to wait too much longer, as a couple of the security guards at the gate seemed to get a message in their headsets and headed for the gates. They unlocked them and opened up the gates, allowing the class and the media inside, directing them to a podium. Margaret made her way out of the building, stepping up to the podium.

"Greetings, members of the media and honoured guests. It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this, the first ever Zandarian Foreign Embassy." She began as the reporters started clamouring for position. "Now, I am proud to introduce the Ambassador to Zandar, and heir to the throne, Prince Phillipe II of Zandar!"

There was a round of applause, and a number of camera flashes as Phillipe stepped out and headed for the podium. The fact was that more of the press were there for an all-too-rare glimpse of the Prince than any real interest in the Embassy. The majority still wouldn't be able to point to Zandar on a map, and few could imagine any kind of reason that a Zandarian would have a need for an Embassy for. Did Zandarians even COME to the US? With the exception of Phillipe, no one could even NAME a Zandarian. Phillipe gratefully accepted the applause as he waited for them to settle down.

"Please, you are too kind." He said as he waited for a time to begin. "Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the press, and of course, my most honoured guests. It is with great pleasure that I have the great honour of opening this, the first of what I hope will become many Zandarian Foreign Embassies."

He panned his hand across the building, allowing the press to take pictures as he did so.

"I am proud of my homeland, and of my heritage. However, even I can admit we have been remiss in the past when it comes to extending international relations. This is something I hope to remedy. That is why I petitioned to the President and the United Nations to be allowed to open this Embassy, right here in your fair city. It is my great pleasure to announce that as of 7AM this very morning, by official mandate, this building has been recognised as an Embassy and I have been officially sworn in as the legal Ambassador to Zandar for the United States." He continued. "Now, thank you very much for your time, my press officer will take your questions. In the meantime, I have some very important guests to take on the inaugural tour."

Phillipe walked into the main entrance lobby, followed closely by the class. They all stood and looked around at the interior. It was indeed an impressive building. In keeping with the traditional styles of his homeland, Phillipe had spent quite a bit of effort and money on tradesmen to give it a classical appearance. One of the boys was the first to comment, looking to the paintings lining the walls depicting important figures Zandarian history.

"This place looks like a museum." He said, looking a little bored already. His teacher was about to reprimand him for his rudeness, but Phillipe just laughed.

"Yes, I suppose it does rather doesn't it?" He answered honestly. "Though I do have to admit that is largely by design. I wanted to honour the long and storied history of my home, so that all who visit this place will experience the same pride I do when I think of it."

"Prince Phillipe! Prince Phillipe, over here!" Chloe rushed out as she started bouncing on the spot, flailing to attract his attention. Phillipe looked over to her and smiled. "Do you remember me?"

"Of course, how could I ever forget my favourite New Zealander?" He replied, reaching to her and touching her shoulder. "Try not to tell your brother I said that though. I do hope you've not been getting involved in any more fights with robots though."

The rest of the class gasped, and looked to Chloe, some of her friends clamouring over her. She had told her friends all about the time Phillipe had rescued her from the G-bo, but none of them believed her. To hear from the Prince himself that the story of how he had personally fought a robot, and carried her in his arms to safety, no matter how far-fetched the story seemed, they had to believe it was true.

"Prince Phillipe?" Someone asked. "When your dad dies, does that mean you'll be King?"

"Derek!" The teacher reprimanded him. Somehow he doubted the Prince really wanted to talk about his father's death. While it was something that would affect his life eventually, it didn't really seem like the most diplomatic thing to talk about. Phillipe though just laughed.

"It's quite alright, really it is. It is refreshing to find those unafraid to ask their questions so directly." Phillipe told the teacher. "But to answer your question, no, I will not. Zandar is a Principality, not a Monarchy. My official title is currently Hereditary Prince though most simply refer to me as Prince. My official title when I ascend...hopefully MANY years from now...will be Prince."

"So where's our tour guide?" One of the others asked.

"Well, I'm glad you asked. Since this is the first tour, and I have such an important group, I felt it only fitting that I take this tour."

Chloe had to hold a hand over her mouth to contain a squeal of delight hearing this. Phillipe was going to take them on the tour? He was going to be with them the whole day? The future ruler of a nation was clearing his schedule just for them!

"Now, if I may ask a question. Before your trip to the United States, how many of you have ever been to a foreign country?" He asked them. With very few exceptions, almost the whole class held up their hands. Most had at least been as far as Australia. "Excellent. Now, how many of you have ever been to Zandar?"

All hands went down, all except one. This surprised Phillipe, tourism in Zandar wasn't exactly a booming industry. He looked to them, seeing it was Chloe. He looked to her curiously.

"Really?" He asked. "You've been to Zandar?"

"We all have!" Chloe answered, causing all the kids to look to her. "Well, we've been on Zandarian soil ever since we walked in the gate. Since this is legally an Embassy, under international law this is considered Zandarian soil."

"That is exactly correct! You are a bright one aren't you?" Phillipe responded, looking impressed. Chloe started to glow a little pink. She had spent a large part of the night studying up on Zandar on her I-pad. She didn't know Phillipe would be taking the tour, but she figured he'd be around at some point, and she wanted to be able to impress him by knowing something about his home.

"Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you around a little." He said, gesturing for them to follow him.

Over in Kendall's apartment, Kendall arrived back, carrying some take-out Chinese for them both. They didn't really have much time, and like the others, they didn't really have much time to arrange costumes for the party. Kendall had found it incredibly difficult to find a costume on short notice, especially since the party had been declared open invitation meaning virtually everyone in the city was also looking for costumes as well. Virtually everywhere was cleared out. She had found something...but she wasn't really sure about it.

"Matt, I'm back!" She called out as she got in. "I brought Chow Mein."

"That sounds great." He replied, his voice coming in from another room.

"Matt...what are you doing?" She asked him. He came into the room, standing in the doorway.

"I'm trying on my costume for tonight." He told her. "What do you think?" She just stared at him blankly.

"But...you look the same." She replied. He was wearing pretty much what he always did. The jeans, the belt with the large buckle, the checked shirt, the hat that if it wasn't for the fact he'd let her wear it once she would have started to suspect was nailed to his head...all of it was there. "You haven't changed anything."

"Really?" He asked, gesturing to the one thing that had changed. He had found and put on a waist coat over his shirt. Kendall still didn't quite understand. "I'm a cowboy."

"That's kind of cheating." Kendall chuckled as she put the food down on the table. "I mean...you kind of are a cowboy in real life."

"Can you really be considered a cowboy if you only have four cows?" He teased her. "How about you, did you have any luck?"

"Well...I did find something that fit." She told him. "But I'm not really sure it's me though."

"Well, why don't you let me take a look at it?" He asked her.

"It might take me a couple of minutes." She told him, heading into her bedroom. Matt went to the kitchen to start getting some plates out.

"By the way, do you know what's happening with Tyler?" He asked her. "I bumped into him in the hall and he looked pissed about something. I asked, but he just muttered something about Chase and left."

"You have MET Chase right?" Kendall asked from her room. "He's a nice enough guy but he does have a talent for rubbing people the wrong way. Did I tell you about the time he and Koda met?"

"Not really." He replied. "What happened?"

"Let's just say it ended with Koda tackling him through twin-paned bullet-proof glass." Kendall told him. Matt just sucked his teeth.

"Wow." He remarked. "They seem like good friends now."

"Yeah, they are, but that took a while." Kendall answered as the door opened. "OK, this is all they had in my size."

Matt turned around, and his eyes opened wide as he saw her. His mouth hung open in amazement.

"Um...it's a little more revealing than I normally go for..."

"What's it meant to be?" He asked in a voice that barely carried. Kendall started to look a little sheepish, gesturing to the quiver on her back.

"Cupid." She replied. "I...I should probably just skip the main party. This costume is...I feel..."

Her words were cut off as Matt came over and grabbed her, pulling her into himself and kissed her deeply. As they parted, Kendall just looked up to him.

"You like it?" She asked him nervously.

"Trust me, I like it." He replied. Kendall smiled to see the way he was looking at her. It was a much more revealing outfit than she was used to wearing, when she had tried it on in the store, she thought it was more appropriate to a "gentleman's club" than a costume party that would be attended by her employees! However, seeing Matt's reaction, she suddenly felt a lot more comfortable in it. She pulled him into her bedroom.

"What about the food?" Matt asked.

"That's what microwaves are for." She replied as she kicked the door closed behind them.

Back at the Embassy, Phillipe was just taking the kids to the final stop on the tour, his office. While he had brought a number of the treasures over from the museum, meaning the kids were interested to see the armour and the weapons, most of it was just hearing about the political purpose of an Embassy. Most of the kids' eyes were glazed over. They were so bored that they may as well have been listening to how lint formed in a tumble dryer. Chloe, however, was riveted, hanging on his every word.

"And now we come to the final area, my office." He told them. "While I will have other duties that will take me out of the Embassy, this is where much of my work will be done. Here I will meet with other dignitaries, discuss matters of state, and perhaps even sign important legislation all in the mutual benefit of my nation and others."

He then gestured to the desk. It was a large, caved oak desk, patterned with various birds and forest creatures, topped with red leather.

"Last but not least, this will be where some of the most important work will be done. It is no Resolute Desk...though I have heard that unfortunately that was destroyed by the la...er I mean the Corsair Rangers in battle. However, it does have a fascinating history." He told them. "It was made for my Great, Great Grandfather..."

"Prince Edwin IV!" Chloe rushed out.

"Well...yes, it was!" He replied. "It was gifted to him by Queen Victoria of England in 1872 for..."

The other kids were all completely bored. Chloe though just let out a sigh and stared at him with bright, star-struck eyes.


	21. Preparing For The Party

In the city, Chase and Allison were desperately looking for a costume for the party that night. The last-minute nature of the invitation to a costume party caused its own complications, but between the fact that the open invitation meant virtually everyone in town was also looking for costumes just on the chance that they MIGHT be one of the lucky few to get in, combined with Chase's usual habit of leaving things until the last minute meant that unfortunately, costume were a little thin on the ground.

Allison was with him as he ran amok through the fifth costume shop they had visited, hoping beyond hope that there was one costume, somewhere in the city that someone had missed. She was standing in the corner, out of his way as he searched desperately for something, answering a tweet on her phone. She smiled as she saw that it was yet another from Chloe. She had taken to Chase's little sister quickly after meeting her, and now that she was following her on the social networking site, she had been bombarded by pictures and tweets all morning. She just smiled, seeing a selfie of the young girl in Phillipe's office.

"Come on, there has to be something in an adult size surely." He grumbled as he searched through the rack that was clearly the last-ditch ideas. The costumes that had been in the shop so long, and repaired so often that they were marked down to only five or ten dollars for a day's hire. "Come ON!"

"It really looks like Chloe's enjoying her tour." Allison told him as she replied to Chloe's latest tweet. "If she keeps this up, I'll be expecting a tweet of Phillipe's bathroom any minute."

"Are you sure this is all you have?" Chase complained, holding up a rather sad-looking, extremely old version of a naval dress uniform, entitled "Officer and a Gentleman" after the classic movie. The shop owner just shrugged.

"I've had people in all day, they've cleaned me out." He answered in an off-hand way. "Take it or leave it."

"Chase, maybe it's time we looked at making something." Allison suggested. "We've been at this for a couple of hours now. It's clear nobody has anything..."

Just then, she let out a shriek as Koda jumped out on her from behind a display. Alessandra wasn't far behind him, carrying a bag.

"You look for costume too?" Koda asked. Allison just pointed to Chase.

"ONE of us is." She replied. "I actually got a costume last night when I went shopping with Chloe."

"Well, you two are in here. I guess you're in the same boat." Chase surmised. Koda shook his head and pulled a large, plastic club out of the bag Alessandra was carrying.

"We pick up last ones." Koda told him. "We the Flintstones."

"You picked out a couple's costume?" Allison asked. "Aw, that's so sweet. Of course, I'll be lucky if Chase even gets a costume."

"Alright, there is officially nothing even remotely worth wearing here." Chase grumbled. His hand strayed to his Energem. "You know, I have one idea..."

"I don't think so." Allison reprimanded him, staring at him as she put a hand on his. She flashed a quick glance in Alessandra's direction, reminding him that while she knew their secret, Alessandra currently didn't. She then looked to Koda. "So how was the show?"

"Koda do great! He crush it!" Alessandra told them proudly, holding the Blue Ranger tightly. "He get loudest cheer! People like see him kick Eddie's butt."

"You mean YOU did right?" Allison asked in response. She knew it was Eddie that was responsible for the injury that had kept Alessandra out of action just short of two months. She just smirked.

"What that saying Koda teach? Karma a bitch?" Alessandra answered. Allison heard another bleep from her phone, and checked it, seeing it was yet another tweet from Chloe about the tour.

"Well, it's not the bathroom, only his desk." Allison chuckled.

"I can't believe Chloe's so into this tour." Chase responded as he hung up the last costume, having finally admitted defeat. There was nothing that he would be willing to wear. "She never was hugely into history or politics or any of that stuff."

"Somehow I don't think it's the tour she's into." Allison remarked as she picked up the latest tweet, a selfie she took with Phillipe, with his arm around her. Chloe always did have a bright smile, being a lively and cheerful girl, but here, her grin was close to splitting her head in half, and there was a slight, pink tinge to her face.

"What was that?" Chase asked as he came over. He hadn't quite heard her, but Allison took that as a blessing. She knew all too well what it was like to be a young girl with a crush. For her, it was Tony Hawk. She didn't see any need to embarrass the young girl, especially since it wouldn't be long before she was heading back to New Zealand.

"Oh, nothing." Allison answered, putting her phone away. "Now, come on, I'm sure I'll find something to make a costume out of in your apartment."

Up on Sledge's ship, Wrench was working on Shearfear's weapons, making sure they were all as sharp as possible. The plan to sever the Rangers' bonds of friendship was a solid plan. The deciding factor in a lot of the Rangers' battles had been their teamwork. While Sledge's forces did have a lot of strength, they also all had their own agendas which often meant they couldn't work together when they needed to. For most of the monsters Sledge had sent after them, all they really cared about was getting free of Sledge's ship. They didn't really care what Sledge did with the Energems, or even about the Energems at all. In the end, it made sense to try and do anything to disrupt the Rangers' teamwork. If they couldn't co-ordinate their efforts, perhaps their battles would end differently.

"Hey, careful with that thing!" Shearfear complained as Wrench used his angle-grinder on the blade to hone it. "I need this thing!"

"Some good they've done you so far." Wrench muttered. "So far you haven't even severed one friendship bond. You'd think by sheer chance you'd have been able to cut at least one friendship bond by now."

"There was no cover! They saw me coming!" Shearfear complained.

"And whose fault is that? YOU were the one that decided to attack them in the open like that!" Wrench reprimanded him.

"Just get on with the main-pedi." Shearfear responded in a snort. "I'm sure I'll have much more luck at that costume party, and I want my weapons at their best!"

Wrench muttered something under his breath as he went to one of his leg blades. As he was about to start working on it, he noticed something.

"What happened here?" He asked. "This section of the blade...it's scratched, like it's been used." Wrench told him. Shearfear just looked down to the blade, inspecting it.

"These blades haven't been used in years." He responded. "I haven't used them on anyone..."

Wrench noticed his words tailing off, and realised he was thinking about something. He looked to the monster curiously.

"What is it?" He asked.

"One of the Rangers hit me; he hit me in the leg." Shearfear told him. "He must have hit the blade!"

"And it did nothing?" Wrench asked. Shearfear just went to the monitors, pulling up the footage of the fight at the sand dunes. At the end of the fight, they watched Tyler slide straight into Shearfear's legs, taking them out from under him.

"So, the Red Ranger hit you." He surmised. "I guess Master Sledge would like to know your weapons..."

"I wouldn't be so quick to judge." Shearfear told him, watching the same footage through one of his lenses. He handed the viewer to Wrench, who looked through it. He could see the Ranger's friendship bonds on the screen. After Tyler stood up, he could see something was different about his friendship bond. It was still intact, but there was something off about it.

"His friendship bond is still intact!" Wrench complained. "He hit you full on and..."

"It may be intact, but look here." He responded as he pointed to a section of the friendship bond. "It is damaged. Perhaps if it hadn't been so long since my blades had been used, and they were a little sharper..."

"Sit back down!" Wrench told him, grabbing the angle grinder. "Prepare for the best mani-pedi of your life!"

At the Embassy, Margaret had the headache of dealing with the sudden announcement of an open-invitation party at the Embassy. She knew how important it was to mark the occasion of the Embassy opening, but she would have felt considerably more comfortable if Phillipe hadn't been quite so hasty with it all. While the building was, to all intents and purposes finished, with the exception of a few rooms on the top two floors, there were always problems in opening a new building that would likely not be encountered for the first few days, little minor issues like electrics and plumbing that might not be evident right away. Of course, her main concern was the security aspect.

She hadn't had a chance to fully test out and check the surveillance system for any potential bugs or blind spots. She would have felt much more comfortable if the grand opening had been delayed by a couple of weeks to make sure she and her team were fully comfortable with the security system, and had completely familiarised themselves with the building. Unfortunately, that was not Phillipe's way. Once he decided to do something, he very much believed in hitting the ground running. It wasn't the first time she had found herself grabbing her passport and on a plane within an hour because the Prince got some idea in his head of somewhere he needed to be or some event he just had to see. It was one of the things she liked about him, but at the same time it also made her job very frustrating at times. It wasn't as if he gave her much time to properly co-ordinate a security detail. Over the years, she'd had to become pretty good at organising things pretty much on the lam.

"Have you got that full report on the CCTV system?" She asked one of the technicians. He pulled out a tablet, showing her the view from the cameras, cycling through them. "Are you kidding me? Half of them aren't even working!"

"It's not like you gave me a lot of time to finish up." The technician complained. She just sighed, checking through them.

"Alright, so we don't have eyes on the basement, or the top three floors. We'll just refuse access to everywhere but the main lobby and the ground floor." She told him, checking where the cameras did cover. "There are blind spots!"

"There are blind spots with most systems." He protested. She just glared at him.

"We aren't paying you to create a cheap-ass system to guard one of your two-bit mini-malls." Margaret reminded him. "If your system doesn't catch something, some store doesn't lose twenty dollars worth of lip stick or a pack of Cheetos. This system is meant to protect the safety of a US Ambassador! If anything happens to Phillipe on your watch..."

"I'll...see if I can re-adjust the views a little." He stammered out as he ran off. Margaret just stroked the bridge of her nose.

"God I wish we'd hired Cerberus like I recommended." She grumbled. She just heard a little chuckle from down the hall.

"You really do worry too much." Phillipe teased her.

"Yeah, I worry too much. I mean, no one has ever tried to assassinate an Ambassador before." She replied. She looked to him, seeing the outfit he was wearing. It was a period outfit, a seventeenth-century style suit, a silver-grey outfit, trimmed in gold thread, with a ruffled shirt underneath. She recognised it from one of the many portraits she had seen growing up in the royal household. It had belonged to one of his ancestors. She had seen that very outfit in one of the display cases in the building. Phillipe had opted to honour one of his ancestors with his costume. Either that, or like a lot of people he had to find a costume last-minute and had grabbed it out the display case for something to wear. He took a twirl and stood, waiting for her assessment.

"Well, what do you think?" He asked her. She just smiled.

"Very Three Musketeers." She replied as she looked to him. Phillipe just smiled.

"I thought so." He told her. "I just hope this outfit doesn't see the kind of action it used to."

"It better not." Margaret agreed. It was a different time, one that was known both as a romantic period...and also one fuelled largely by testosterone more than good sense. At the time, somewhere in the region of twenty five percent of all noblemen died in personal duels. Phillipe's ancestor, the one who had worn this very outfit on the day he inherited the Principality, was known as having something of an eye for the ladies...and was also a highly talented duellist, a deadly combination that had led to more than one noble family burying a son. He gestured her towards a room.

"Now, it's your turn." He told her. She just looked to him a little confused.

"My turn for what?" She asked him. He just smiled and opened the door. She looked inside, seeing an outfit on a mannequin in the middle of the room. She just gulped.

"You're not serious." She rushed out. "Phillipe..."

"I'm sure you'll look fantastic! I'll see you at the party." He told her as he walked away before giving her a chance to refuse.

"Phillipe!" She called after him, but she knew her words were falling on deaf ears. His mind was made up, and when that happened, it was rare that anyone could convince him otherwise. She just headed inside, taking off her suit jacket and hanging it up and closing the door behind her.

Elsewhere in the city, Chloe was busy getting ready for the party in the motel her class was staying in. The teacher knew that her older brother was coming to pick her up any time now. She came into the room, where a bunch of her friends were waiting. Chloe came into the room, wearing the outfit that Allison had helped her pick out. It was an aquamarine, frilly dress, trimmed in lace. The look was completed with a little tiara propped on top of her head. She wasn't normally into stuff like that, but when Allison had agreed to take her out shopping for an outfit, the princess outfit just spoke to her. Her friends just screamed in delight.

"Chloe, you look gorgeous!" One of her classmates complimented her. "I can't believe you get to go to this party, I'm so jealous!"

"I'm so stoked to be going tonight. Chase is the coolest brother ever!" She said with a little smile.

"You're excited to see the Prince again you mean." One of the others said as they all started to close in. "It's just a shame there's going to be so many people there. No doubt he'll be busy the whole night."

"Not the WHOLE night." Chloe told them. They all looked among each other, wondering what she meant. "He might just have to help me with a little problem."

"What kind of problem?" One of them asked. Chloe just smiled.

"When we were in his office...I may have just... 'accidentally' left my phone." She told her class mates. "If I tell him that I've lost it, and how upset my mom will be if she has to replace it, I'm sure he'll be only too happy to help me find it."

"He already risked his life to save you from that robot. Of COURSE he'll help you find your phone." One of the others agreed. Just then, they heard a knock on the door. She put her finger to her lips, indicating to the others to keep quiet. She went to the door and opened it, finding Allison standing outside in a black, leather outfit, with a domino mask. She had a pair of plastic night-sticks attached to her belt, and the look was topped with a blonde wig.

"Black Canary!" Chloe rushed out excitedly, seeing her in her costume. "You look amazing!"

"So do you Chloe, that outfit really suits you!" She complimented the little girl. A guy wearing a white sheet, with only holes cut for eye holes came up the hall, and looked to her. He looked to Chloe.

"Wow, and look who's just the prettiest little princess ever!" Chase said as he picked her up.

"Chase?" She asked. "You're going as a ghost?"

"Well..."

"That's kind of lame." Chloe giggled. Allison just looked a little sheepish.

"He didn't leave me a whole lot of time to arrange anything." She told his little sister. "Besides, he doesn't have too much to work with in his wardrobe, so I had to make do with the linen closet."

"So are we ready to go?" Chase asked. "Then let's go, your carriage awaits Your Highness!"


	22. The Embassy Party

Outside the Embassy, the crowd was starting to gather awaiting the beginning of the party. It was easily the biggest event to hit Amber Beach in months, and the open invite had meant there were no shortage of people waiting to get in. Phillipe looked out the window, seeing the ocean of people, all in costume, waiting and hoping that they would be among the lucky 500 that were chosen to enter and join the party. There were a couple of invited dignitaries that were scheduled to arrive by a private entrance any time in the next few minutes, but he was most excited to share the opening of the Embassy with the citizens of Amber Beach.

"Look at them out there." Phillipe said with a smile, seeing the excitement starting to build up among the people. "This is what I always hoped for. Can you believe all these people are here to celebrate our homeland finally becoming part of the wider world?"

"I can believe there are a lot of people with nothing better to do that want to fill up on free food and drink." Margaret replied, tugging at her outfit. Phillipe had gotten another outfit out of a display case for her. This one had belonged to another of Phillipe's ancestors. It was a large, frilled dress from the 1700's, which had once been worn at a royal wedding. Margaret was not at all comfortable in the dress. She would have been much happier if she had just been allowed to wear her suit and work security as she was intending, but Phillipe had insisted she was to join him for the party.

"Must you always be so cynical?" He asked her. "I'm extending a little hospitality. Our nation hasn't done much to make ourselves known to the rest of the world, perhaps it is time we showed that we aren't some kind of nation of social hermits."

"The Senator and his entourage arrived a few minutes ago; they're waiting in your office." She told him. "Matt and Mrs Griffin arrived; they've been taken to the library to wait for the party."

"Then the Senator will just have to wait." Phillipe responded as he headed for the library.

"You're blowing off the Senator?" She asked him.

"No, I'm simply choosing to see him second." Phillipe said with a smile. "Keep him entertained for a moment. Tell him that joke you know."

"This is why I hate politics." She muttered as she went to keep the Senator busy.

Outside the Embassy, the crowd was gathering, and starting to grow restless. Fury, Wrench, Poisandra and Sledge had gathered nearby. It wasn't often that Sledge left the ship, but given the way Shearfear's last attempt to go after the Rangers had gone, he didn't want to take any chances. He wanted to make sure that this time Shearfear was properly motivated to the task at hand. Knowing that Sledge was right outside, was bound to act as suitable motivation.

"You're certain that it'll work this time?" Sledge asked.

"I sharpened all his blades myself; they're honed to a razor's edge!" Wrench assured him. "This time, he'll slice through friendships like a hot knife through butter!"

"Master Sledge, I still have to get close to them." Shearfear reminded him. "How can I do that...?"

"Will you look around?" Sledge interrupted him abruptly. Shearfear looked around, seeing the potential guests all gathering, hoping to be close enough to the gate to get chosen to enter. "I've already counted three of me in this crowd! Everyone's in costume! People will just assume you're in costume too!"

Shearfear didn't look entirely convinced by this plan, but just as he was starting to seem hesitant, Sledge showed him his blaster.

"Of course, there is another way this can end for you." Sledge reminded him. Shearfear just gulped and nodded in agreement, before making his way into the crowd. With the motivation of knowing that Sledge would make him suffer far more than anything the Rangers would likely do to him, he pushed his way through the crowd, making his way towards the gates. He needed to ensure that he was close enough to get chosen by the guards; otherwise he was sure that Sledge would take it out on him.

He got a few protests as he pushed his way to the door, but he turned a deaf ear. He had a lot more to worry about than unhappy party guests if he didn't even get into the party. Sledge was not known for being forgiving.

As he got to the front of the crowd, the gates were opened and one of the security guys started to let people in.

"Alright people, we have capacity for five hundred! No shoving, just wait until we call you." He announced, checking the clipboard, while another grabbed a door counter to keep track of how many they were letting in. "Alright, Justice League, the five of you are in. Hulk Hogan, you can come on in. Power Rangers? Yeah, you guys are definitely in..."

He started pointing out members of the crowd, identifying them by their costumes, while the guy with the counter kept track of how many they were letting in. His eyes came to rest on Shearfear.

"What the hell are you meant to be?" He asked. Shearfear just shuffled a little uncomfortably, and tried to think of something, but it slipped out before he could stop himself.

"I'm one of Sledge's monsters!" He blurted out. He suddenly felt himself starting to panic. The guard considered him for a moment, looking him up and down carefully, before he smiled.

"Dude, seriously that costume is awesome! I can't see the zips or anything!" He responded, waving Shearfear in. "Have a good time!"

Shearfear breathed a sigh of relief as he went inside. He was in, now all he needed to do was find the Rangers and get to work. Maybe if he did well, he would finally be free of Sledge for good.

Meanwhile, inside, the Rangers had already started to arrive. Like the dignitaries, they had come in a rear entrance to ensure they would get in, having been personally invited by Phillipe. Tyler was standing by the doorway, watching as they set up the buffet.

"Hey there!" Shelby greeted him, coming up to him. She was wearing a leather jacket and a fedora, opting for Indiana Jones as a costume choice. She really wasn't a princesses and frilly dress kind of person, and the movie archaeologist was sort of an idol growing up. Of course, it was also partly responsible for her focus on the excitement and adventure of archaeology, somewhat ignoring the years of study and research that went into making such discoveries possible. "The Prince outfit? I didn't know you still had that thing!"

Tyler was indeed wearing his Prince disguise from back when they tried to fool Fury into bringing them the Ptera Charger. Tyler just nodded.

"It got a little damaged in the battle. The costume shop refused to take it back and insisted I buy it." Tyler informed her. While he had repaired it, the costume store insisted it wasn't acceptable. It was irritating at the time since it meant he had to buy the costume, but it did mean that he had a costume available at the last minute.

"Well...I can't say I'm too disappointed to see it again." Shelby said with a little smile. They heard a cough as Phillipe arrived.

"Well, that looks familiar." Phillipe said with a little smile. He could remember taking great offence to the outfit back when he had first met the Rangers. Now though, seeing it again, he could finally take it as a joke. Tyler pointed to his medals.

"Well, this time I'm officially Prince William." He informed him. "I even changed the medals. No more Congressional, no more Legion D'honour, now it's all British medals. I even did some research to make sure they were the right ones."

"I'm very impressed." Phillipe admitted. "I'm guessing you couldn't convince Shelby to play Kate?"

"Oh, no, not a chance!" Shelby laughed as she thought about it. "One day being a princess is MORE than enough for one lifetime!"

"Hey guys, you all look great!" Allison complimented them as she, Chase and Chloe arrived. Chloe kept very close to Allison as soon as she saw Phillipe. Now that she was close to him, the nerves were starting to build up again.

"Black Canary! Wow, that is so amazing!" Shelby complimented her. "And...Chase, that costume is...really something!"

Chase just folded his arms grumpily in front of him. He knew his ghost costume was kind of lame, but he didn't have much choice in the matter, having left it to the last minute to choose his outfit.

"It's not my fault all the shops were out of costumes." Chase responded a little petulantly.

"Chase being irresponsible and leaving everything until the last minute, why does that not surprise me?" Tyler snorted, before looking to the sheet. "Wait...is that one of our...?"

"It was from my linen closet!" Allison rushed out. Tyler just nodded.

"That's one thing I guess." He responded. The others were just looking at him, a little confused. They'd all noticed a downturn in Tyler's normally upbeat mood as of late. They all knew that Chase irritated him at times, but he had been sour now for a lot longer than normal. Usually he could just rise above Chase's annoying habits.

"Well...why don't you all go and help yourselves to the buffet...I see Koda has already started, and you might want to get some food before he cleans us out." Phillipe suggested. The Rangers all nodded in agreement, before heading for the buffet, dragging Chloe with them. Phillipe looked to Margaret.

"So, is everything set up..."

"Mrs Griffin and Matt came in a short time ago." She informed him as the first of the guests started to arrive in the main room. "They're in the parlour next to your office."

"I'll just make sure they're settled in. Why don't you see to the guests?"

As he left to check on the surprise party, Margaret rolled her eyes, heading for the party. As she did so, she noticed Shearfear walking in, and let out a whistle.

"Wow, some people really put a lot of effort into this." She commented, coming to the side of the Senator. "Senator Hammond, have you tried the shrimp?"

The party started to wear on, and the Embassy's main reception hall was now filled with guests. Kendall was at the buffet, gathering a few finger sandwiches, but she couldn't help feeling a lot of eyes on her as she did so. She wasn't really all that comfortable with the cupid outfit anyway, it was a far cry from anything she normally wore, but as she bent down to get something from the table, she caught a reflection of a guy staring at her from the front...and realised he had a lot more of a view than she really wanted to give him! She moved to another position, trying to cover that, but she suddenly became aware of exactly how short the skirt was! Eventually, she gave up on the buffet and headed to a corner with what little she had gathered, hoping to let as few people see her as possible. She looked up as Phillipe arrived, bringing her a glass of champagne.

"That is...quite a costume." He remarked. Kendall wasn't sure how to take that comment. She still wasn't overly happy with the way Phillipe had ended up on the team. She knew a lot of it was all in her head, but she just couldn't move past the fact he had kept the Graphite Energem from them, all in the hopes of becoming the Graphite Ranger himself. While it had ended up working out, there was a part of her that felt like he had taken an unreasonable risk, and put everyone in danger of Sledge getting an Energem without the Rangers being able to do anything to prevent him from getting it. Of course, she knew a part of the reason she was so raw about it was that of they had found it, if the Rangers had it before him, then maybe it would have been her that was chosen.

"It was all the costume shop had left in my size." She replied, looking a little uncomfortable. He handed her the glass.

"Here try this. It was bottled during the reign of Louis XIV of France. It was gifted to my..."

"You are aware that he was a complete despot right?" Kendall asked. Phillipe just nodded.

"I agree, he was a lunatic and a tyrant." Phillipe responded. "However, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the fact he had excellent taste in champagne. We already have the bottle, refusing it now would do nothing to reverse his misdeeds."

Kendall just took a sip of the champagne. It was indeed excellent, a vintage that had to be worth a small fortune. Phillipe had obviously broken out the good stuff for some of his more important guests, and opted to offer her a glass. She just took a sip. She had to admit, Phillipe was right about that much, it really was excellent champagne. She didn't want to think about what its market value was; likely it was worth more than the museum earned in a year by a significant margin! She could see some guys still staring at her, and tried to cover up a little more.

"You know, you really should take all this attention as a compliment." Phillipe commented, seeing the way she was reacting to the attention. Kendall responded with her signature death-glare, though Phillipe seemed strangely immune to its effects, either that, or completely oblivious to it. "I have to say, it really is most fetching."

"Yes, because my ultimate ambition is to look like one of those calendars that appears on the wall of auto shop offices up and down the country." She muttered.

"I'm certain Matt likes it if nothing else." He replied. She didn't say anything in response. "Did...did I say something wrong?"

"I'm a PhD candidate four times over. I've got four Masters' degrees." She responded. "But the way people look at me, I feel like I'm on the middle pages of some magazine guys pick up off the top shelf."

Phillipe just looked to her, hearing her say this. She just shook her head.

"Back when I was at uni, I was one of only fifteen girls in a class of sixty. A lot of people made it pretty clear they thought we were only there as affirmative action." Kendall told him. "Even some of the professors weren't exactly supportive. One of them made a big deal out of my outfit in the lab. He said I was favouring attention over basic safety. I was only there about a week before I spent half my student loan on a new wardrobe, getting rid of any bright colours or revealing outfits."

She took another sip, thinking back to those days.

"By the time I was there six months I was already most of the way to completing a four-year degree Summa Cum Laude, but a lot of the guys still made snide remarks about me and suggested I got where I did because of how I looked." She continued. She looked to him, before sniggering a little at the memory.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this." She stated. "You couldn't possibly..."

"You were trying to be taken seriously. People took one look at you and immediately leapt to judgement." Phillipe responded. "It's tough to fight that kind of perception. Sometimes, all you want is to scream at people and give them a good shake, but you know if you do, you'll just make everyone believe..."

"That they were right about you after all." Kendall interrupted him. She looked a little surprised to hear Phillipe talking that way, showing that kind of insight. "How did you...?"

"If you want to know what it means to not be taken seriously, try being a 25 year old standing before Congress asking to be ratified as an Ambassador." Phillipe responded with a smile. Kendall had never really thought about Phillipe's ambition or career path before. She had to admit that a lot of her impression of him was based on her perception of him being brought up in a palace, never having to work for anything if he didn't want to. She never really thought about him working to prove himself to anyone. They looked up as they heard a ruckus up by the buffet. Shelby appeared to be standing before a bewildered Ivan, who was standing empty-handed, a smashed plate on the floor before him, scattering his food on the floor.

"My food!" Ivan complained, looking to the plate on the floor. "How dare you...?"

"That's your sixth spinach and ricotta quiche Ivan!" She snapped angrily.

"I'm sorry, but if you're unaware of how a buffet works, one picks out what they want to eat." Ivan replied.

"I'm VEGETARIAN!" She yelled at him. "You can stuff your face with any one of the fifty thousand other things on the table, and instead you hoover down your own bodyweight on the only dishes I can actually eat?"

"Shelby's right, you are kind of making a pig of yourself." Riley responded. "I'd be amazed if you're able to get out of bed in the morning, never mind train."

"If we must talk about someone making a pig of themselves, I notice no one is mentioning the fact Chase is on his fourth plate!"

Hey, hey, HEY!" Kendall called out as they started to turn on each other. "What are you...?"

Her words were cut off as Chase lost his temper, throwing his plate at Ivan. It missed the Gold Ranger completely, hitting Kendall full in the face. She just stood, glaring at them. They all fell silent, realising what had happened. Phillipe was also confused, seeing the scene his friends were making. As Kendall was preparing to get torn into her friends, he noticed Shearfear making his way towards them. As he brought out a blade, Phillipe noticed the light reflecting off it and realised it was no costume prop. It was real!

"Look out!" He yelled as he ran for them, tackling Shearfear away from them. The monster shifted his weight, throwing Phillipe through the buffet table. The Graphite Ranger looked up to see him approaching.

"Good luck fighting Sledge when you can't stand each other." Shearfear told him, looking through his viewing lens, seeing Phillipe's friendship bonds. "Say goodbye to your friends!"

Before he could do so though, some shots rang out. He turned to see Margaret aiming his way. Shearfear knocked her down with a blast, before approaching her.

"I wouldn't have expected you to need someone to protect you!" Shearfear scoffed, looking to Phillipe. "Still, I can deal with your little bodyguard."

He brought down his blade, aiming right for Margaret's bonds, but he recoiled, like he'd hit solid concrete. One of his blades smashed into pieces.

"What...how?" He screamed. Seeing the Rangers starting to regroup, he realised that it was time to make a fast exit. He ran from the room, bowling over security guards as he went.

"Come on, he's getting away!" Chase called out, heading for the door. He bumped into Tyler as he went.

"HEY!" Tyler called out. "Watch where you're going!"

"Maybe if you'd shift your arse fearless leader!" Chase called back as they followed Shearfear out of the building.


	23. Divided We Fall

Shearfear stumbled out into the street, shoving his way through guests and guards alike as he fled the Embassy. He was hoping to complete his work before the Rangers discovered him, but unfortunately, the Graphite Ranger had seen him before he could complete everything.

"Out of my WAY!" He screamed, sending out a power blast that sent the gates flying into the street, and the guards diving for cover. The crowd gathered outside, waiting to see if there would be any last-minute places available for the party quickly dispersed. As he ran out, he started looking around for Sledge.

"Master Sledge?" He yelled. "Master Sledge!"

He saw the hulking bounty hunter, and ran towards him. He and his fiancée were standing, ready for the battle ahead.

"There, the job's done." He rushed out, starting to head past them. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

"Not so fast Swiss Army Coward." Sledge replied, grabbing him and yanking him back. "You're not going anywhere."

"You want me to FIGHT?" He screeched. "I was only meant to..."

Sledge just growled, cowing him into submission. Shearfear decided to try another approach. He gestured to his broken blade.

"I'm not armed!" He told him. "I need to repair..."

"How did you do that?" Sledge demanded.

"I don't know, it just smashed!" He responded, gesturing to the broken blade.

"What were you trying to cut? Titanium?" Poisandra asked him.

"Never mind that now, get your heads in the game!" Sledge responded. Tyler, Chase, Riley, Koda, Shelby and Ivan arrived outside. The creatures just started laughing, seeing them in their costumes.

"And I thought those Spandex suits were ridiculous." Sledge teased them. Chase quickly discarded his ghost 'costume'. Tyler just sneered in response.

"We'll see who looks ridiculous in a minute!" He called out. "UNLEASH THE POWER!"

Back in the Embassy, Phillipe was going around, helping his guards check on the guests, who were in a little bit of a panic. He had every intention of heading out to help the others, but from the sounds outside, he knew they weren't far away, and as long as people were on the sovereign soil of Zandar, he had a responsibility to their safety.

He came across, finding Margaret tending to Chloe. The little girl was more frightened than hurt. She had the bumps and bruises from people blindly rushing around, but she was small enough that she had quickly found a little corner to hide in so she wouldn't be trampled. Margaret was skilled in first aid, yet another of the many duties she'd had in the Prince's service.

"There, I think you're going to be just fine." Margaret assured her, stroking her shoulder reassuringly.

"Where's Chase?" She asked.

"I'm perfectly certain she is, this one seems to be made of steel." Phillipe said, smiling at the little girl. "She seems to bounce more than break."

"I remember someone else who was much the same." Margaret teased him. Chloe heard this and felt a little deflated as Phillipe turned his attention to Margaret.

"Where's Chase?" She asked. "Where's my brother?"

"Oh...um..." Phillipe started to say. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere. You know what he's like, always trying to save the day. He already told me about that Maori woman's cat."

"Yeah, he's always been like that." Chloe conceded. Phillpe frowned as he saw some blood on her dress.

"What...you're bleeding?" He asked.

"I was sure she wasn't..." Margaret said, beginning to check again. As she moved the dress to check her flesh, she couldn't see a wound. That was when she noticed that there was some blood running down her arm.

"Margaret, are you alright?" Phillipe asked, looking to Margaret, inspecting her arm.

"I must have caught some shrapnel." She responded. "The dress..."

"The dress is a dress, let's get that checked..."

"My cell phone!" Chloe rushed out, seeing Phillipe one again turning his attention to Margaret. She could feel the jealousy starting to rise in her, seeing him tending to his bodyguard. Weren't bodyguards meant to be tough? She could see to herself, why did he need to do it?

"I'm sorry?" Phillipe responded, looking confused.

"My cell phone, I can't find it!" She replied.

"I'm sure we'll find it..."

"My mum just got it before I came here, it cost her a fortune, she'd kill me if I lost it!" Chloe started to whimper. She even managed to bring on a few tears for effect. She was proud of herself for that. What was a bodyguard with a minor injury over a young girl in tears in fear of her mother's wrath? Peeking between her fingers, she could see that it was working as he gestured over one of the other guards.

"Margaret appears to be hurt. Could you tend to her?" He asked one of the other guards. He looked to the little girl. "I'm sure it has to be around here somewhere..."

"N...now I think about it, the last place I remember having it was in your office." She said cautiously. "When I was taking selfies on the tour...that's the last place I remember having it."

"Oh...well...we could always start there I suppose." He said a little uneasily, still a little concerned that he hadn't yet managed to join his friends in battle. He signalled over a guard. "Could you take this girl to my office? She believes she lost something there earlier today."

"But...couldn't you...?"

"I have other to attend to." He told her. "Your brother and I will be back to check on you soon, I swear it."

Chloe just slipped into disappointment as one of Phillipe's men led her away, while he ran off to save someone else. Tears came to her eyes at this thought; he was going to save someone else. He was spending all this time running around taking care of others...did that mean she wasn't special after all?

Outside, the battle was heating up. Tyler renewed his grudge match with Sledge, while Koda kept Poisandra at bay. Shearfear was still holding back, cowering almost. He was great at starting fights, but when it came to actually fighting in them...he suddenly became a lot less courageous. The others were dealing with Viviks, which just seemed to keep on coming.

Out the corner of his eye, Tyler caught a glimpse of Chase leaping and tumbling through the air, taking down Viviks with his blaster as he went. It was typical of him. Even when they were in a deadly battle, close to a landmark, close to a building full of innocent bystanders, he still insisted on showing off. They were all surrounded by enemies, and yet here he was, still insisting on making it all about himself.

He got knocked off his feet from behind as a Vivik he hadn't seen smashed into him from the back. He managed to roll to his feet.

"Thanks for the covering fire Chase!" He snapped sarcastically as he blocked Sledge's follow-up.

"Oh, the mighty Red Ranger needs someone to take care of him?" Chase replied sarcastically, levelling his blaster under his arm and shooting behind him, taking down one of the Viviks trying to sneak up on him.

"We're ALL meant to cover each other's backs!" Shelby responded as she powered up into Dino Steel Mode, bringing her Tricera Drill to bear, bringing down three of the green henchmen. "It's called being a team!"

"Oh, big surprise you're taking his side." Chase snorted. "Of course it's got nothing to do with the fact you two are making out like limpets all day."

"HEY!" Shelby protested.

"Besides, you and Allison are the ones that keep disappearing for hours at a time!" Riley responded. "I swear on the day I don't end up doing at least an hour of your shift I'll throw a parade in your honour!"

"Well at least I'm not off wasting time pretending I'm a knight with shiny pants over there?" Chase yelled.

"You Chase, are the MASTER of wasting time!" Ivan responded. Just then, he was sliced down by a spinning attack from Shearfear that took down both him and Riley. Emboldened by seeing them tearing into each other instead of their enemies, he finally took to battle.

"See what did I tell you?" Shearfear declared loudly. "And this is with only a few bonds severed! Once I get a few more..."

"Why you fight?" Koda responded, tackling Poisandra into a wall hard with his Stego Shield. "They enemy! Not Each other!"

"He started it!" Chase protested, before he was pounced upon and found himself at the bottom of a dog-pile of Viviks.

"I have to hand it to you Shearfear; you are more than just talk!" Sledge said gleefully as he took down Tyler. "I'm impressed with your results. Perhaps this time one of you isn't completely useless!"

Back in the Embassy, Phillipe was about to head out to help the others when he found Kendall looking around for an alternate way out of the Embassy. She wasn't familiar with the building, but he could tell she was looking for another way out, likely to find her way to the lab.

"You're going to be safest if you stay here." Phillipe told her.

"I can't help the Rangers from in here." She told him. "This is why I didn't want to come! I don't have my equipment here, my surveillance..."

"Come with me." Phillipe told her.

"Phillipe, unless you have a way out..."

"I said come with me!" He reiterated, taking her by the wrist and dragging her with him. He took her down the hall to a door that had remained locked, and cordoned off. He pulled out a key-card, opening it up.

"You have a secret way out?" She asked him. She should have suspected he would, it wasn't unusual for Government buildings to have emergency provisions in case of attack. Bunkers for dignitaries to hide in, or tunnels in case a quick escape was needed. Since the building had originally been the Alphabet Soup facility she should have suspected there were areas that could be repurposed as such. Phillipe just smiled.

"Something like that." He replied, taking her down into the basement. When she got there, the place lit up. There were banks and banks of computers, monitors...she looked back to him.

"No doubt your lab is far more impressive, but the technology is the best I could lay my hands on." He told her as he handed her a head-set.

"What...what is all this?" She asked him.

"I knew my duties of state would sometimes keep me from responding immediately, but that I would need a way to keep track of my friends. I thought the Prince of Zandar turning up at the local museum would draw a little too much attention."

Kendall was a little surprised to hear that he had put so much thought and effort into his new role.

"You did all this...?"

"I don't claim it is anything like up to your standards...and I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you have to improve it when we have the time." He told her. "But for now, it will allow you to keep track of things for us."

As Kendall put the headset on, he turned on one of the monitors and gestured her over to it.

"Right now, I have somewhere I need to be." He told her. "And I think we would all appreciate your help."

With that, he grabbed his morpher putting his Dino Charger into it.

"UNLEASH THE POWER!" He called out, morphing in a flash of light.

Back outside, the battle was falling apart at the seams. The Rangers were spending more time getting back to their feet than actually on them. Sledge was taking great delight in picking Tyler apart, keeping the Red Ranger isolated from his friends. The best part was that he knew the other Rangers weren't coming to his aid. They were all too busy dealing with their own battles. Chase was being pummelled by a mountain of Viviks, while another group were busy playing a morbid game of ping-pong with Shelby, battering him back and forward between each other. Occasionally she would get one of them, but very quickly they were back to their game. Riley and Ivan were being pinned down by Viviks while Shearfear sliced into them. Poisandra had gotten some back-up from some Viviks, and was now finally getting to take Koda to task. The Blue Ranger was struggling to get free, to be able to help his friends, but he was having his own difficulties. Any time it looked like he was about to break free of his own group, one of them managed to bring him down. His frustration was obvious in the way he threw around his attackers.

"How I've waited for this day." Sledge taunted as he grabbed Tyler, holding him up to see how his friends were faring. "Look at this; THIS is the way things have always been. The strong destroy the weak. Even your precious dinosaurs knew that."

He looked to Tyler as the Red Ranger struggled.

"Your toys and your fancy talk of courage only took you so far." He whispered in Tyler's ear. "There are only three more to go, and Fury is tracking down one as we speak."

Tyler struggled harder, hearing this, but he was unable to break Sledge's grip. Sledge drove him face-first into the concrete.

"I have to thank you for finding the first seven for me. Bringing them all together makes this so much quicker." He said sarcastically. "I almost wish you'd put up more of a fight!"

"You want a fight? How about a Royal Ranger PUNCH?" Phillipe responded as he leapt onto the scene, his wrecking ball shooting out and slamming straight into Sledge's face, sending him tumbling away.

"Sledgeums!" Poisandra screamed, rushing to his side. Phillipe swung around, using the chain to smash down the Viviks, clearing his way to the three monsters. Sledge just got up to his feet.

"So, you're the new one!" He snorted, looking to the Graphite Ranger.

"Leave this place at once Sledge!" Phillipe called out. "You desecrated my sovereign soil! Leave now or face the consequences!"

"Consequences?" Sledge laughed. "Look around you! You stand alone! What consequences?"

"Ask my friend!" He responded. Just then, the Pachyzord charged into view. Swinging around, it smashed its tail into the three of them, sending them all flying far into the distance. Phillipe knew better than to think that was the end of things, but he also knew that facing them alone was a foolish move. All he wanted was to take them out of the fight and delay them until the Rangers could regroup.

"I know it's not normally the done thing to call in the Zords until the enemy grow but..."

"Don't worry about it." Kendall replied over her headset. "I think under the circumstances it was for the best.

"Hey, get off me!" Tyler snapped as Chase tried to help him up. The Black Ranger just looked to him.

"First you complain when I don't help, then you complain when I do?" He asked. "Make up your damn mind!"

"Don't talk to him like that!" Shelby yelled, shoving him.

"Oh please, if it wasn't for Tyler trying to take on the Big Bad single-handed maybe we'd have had a bit of leadership!" Riley chipped in, shoving Shelby.

"Indeed! In my day a position of leadership had to be EARNED!" Ivan added. "Both Riley and I have earned..."

"You've earned titles that mean bugger-all Lord of the Sewage Plant!" Chase answered, getting in Ivan's face. "Oh yeah, Shelby told me about that!"

"Koda, what the hell is going on?" Phillipe asked.

"Not know! They keep fighting each other!" Koda responded. "They no fight together, just keep...fighting!"

"Alright guys, come on!" Phillipe told them. "Let's go..."

"SHUT UP!" They all yelled together.

"Who died and made you leader?" Tyler demanded. "You may be a Prince but..."

Just then, they all heard an ear-piercing whistle through their communicators. They all recoiled in shock, before pulling out their communicators. They were greeted by Kendall, who had heard enough. They thought they had seen a death-glare from her before, but this was the mother-of-all death glares, one that would likely terrify even Sledge.

"Stop fighting and get inside NOW!" She demanded. The Rangers all looked to each other, before dutifully turning and heading back for the Embassy.

 **A/N:** That was quite a hiatus...one of my longest outside of PMC trips! At least I don't take six month season breaks right? I can only apologise for keeping you (and the Rangers) hanging. Thanks for your patience.


	24. Severed Bonds

The Rangers had all been pulled back into the basement of the Embassy building after their disastrous battle with Sledge and Poisandra. They always knew that they were powerful, and that if they ever came to the battlefield themselves, then they could count on their toughest battle to date. However, it had been so much worse than that. They had only just squeaked out of the fight with their lives. Phillipe's arrival, combined with his decision to call forth the Pachyzord had undoubtedly saved them all.

However, even through the disappointment of the defeat, even with the fact they had to know they were lucky to make it out alive, there was still a distinct atmosphere in the air. The side-ways glances and icy expressions said it all.

"Well?" Kendall demanded. "I'm waiting for an explanation!"

The Rangers all immediately started to rant at once, forcing Kendall to slam her hand down on the table to silence them all. She started to get a serious headache with all the bickering.

"That was perhaps the sloppiest display I've ever seen! I'd have expected this if you'd come together as a team today, or even a week ago, but you've been doing this for almost a year!" She reminded them all coldly and with as much patience as she could muster. "You're a team, and when you fight as such, you're capable of far more than all of my technology combined! So what happened?"

"Things would have been fine if Mr Kiwi here had my back!" Tyler said with a sour expression as he held Shelby closely. The Pink Ranger just nodded in agreement. "I was taking on Sledge. You know, the head honcho? Guy who wants to lay waste to the whole planet? All I wanted was for you to keep a few Viviks off my back. I didn't think that was too much to ask."

"Why are you always blaming me? Your girlfriend was out there fighting too remember?" Chase responded. "I was pulling my weight, doing my fair share. I didn't see..."

"Are you trying to say that I don't?" Shelby said bitterly.

"Well if the shoe fits." Chase said with a sneer. "You spend all your time bitching and whining about how you want to do more on this team, how you want to be taken seriously...well how about showing us something that makes us believe in you for once?"

"At least she doesn't only think of herself!" Ivan snapped at him. "I have met feudal lords with more consideration for others than you!"

"You know what? None of you are particularly great at that!" Riley yelled. "I'll bet none of you even remembers it's..."

"Your birthday! We know!" Chase groaned. "We have a surprise party set up upstairs, your mom and your brother are there with that stupid mutt of yours waiting!"

"They..." With that, Riley left the room. Phillipe just looked to Kendall.

"They were the best of friends only an hour ago, something that monster did must have done this." Phillipe stated. "I can't believe anything would have made Chase mean-spirited enough to spoil that surprise."

"Divide and conquer." Kendall surmised, looking to the remaining Rangers. "Guys, Sledge's monster must have done something to you. He's trying to break you up so that you can't fight together."

"Sledge had NOTHING to do with it." Chase responded.

"Yeah, some friendships weren't MEANT to last." Shelby agreed.

"I don't believe you!" Koda yelled, becoming upset as he watched his friendships falling apart at the seas. "We build strong friendships!"

"That's right, you did." Phillipe said, looking to Koda. "And just maybe, we can build those strong friendships again."

"Until then, none of you are to go home." Kendall told them. "Until we get this fixed, we can't risk any of you running into Sledge or his goons alone."

"I'd probably be better off alone if the alternative is having captain can't-shoot-straight watching my back." Tyler muttered.

"I'm not the one who almost killed a Ranger before his first morph." Chase replied.

"ENOUGH!" Kendall growled. "Energems, NOW!"

The Rangers all handed over their Energems, at which Kendall looked to Phillipe.

"Please be kind enough to find rooms for them all." Kendall told him. "Oh, and tell your guards, if they try to leave, they have my permission to shoot them!"

With that, she turned her attention to the monitors, scrolling back through the footage to try and find what the monster might have done to the Rangers. Until they knew what they were up against, the team was at Sledge's mercy if he was able to regroup.

Up on Sledge's ship, Poisandra was fawning over her fiancé as he sat in his command chair, pondering the battle.

"That Graphite Ranger doesn't fight fair!" She whined. "The Rangers aren't meant to call those Zord things unless our monsters grow, everyone knows that!"

"The Graphite Ranger and the Blue Ranger have still got their friendship bonds intact." Sledge stated, recalling the way they came together. "What happened to them?"

"I was going to cut the Graphite Ranger's bonds when the bodyguard showed up and stuck her nose in things." Shearfear told him. "So I went to cut her bonds to make her leave, and this happened!"

He showed Sledge the broken blade once more. Sledge just stared at it in disbelief.

"What...what do you mean...it just broke?" He asked.

"I don't know what happened!" The monster shrieked, seeing his master becoming impatient. "I...I need to repair..."

"GO!" Sledge growled. "Do what you must! We can't wait too long. We can't give the Rangers the time to regroup, not when we're so close to victory!"

Back at the Embassy, the guests had all been allowed to go home; the only people left were the Rangers, Mrs Griffin, Matt, Chloe and Margaret. While the Rangers had mostly gone off to their rooms to sulk, Riley had found his mom, and sought to make the best of what was left of his birthday. He was happy to see his mom and his brother again, while Rubik, his dog, was overjoyed to see him again. Margaret was helping some of the staff clean up after the riot in the main room. Matt came over to her and started to help out.

"You don't need to do that." She insisted. "You're a guest."

"Believe me, I want to help." Matt told her, looking around. "So, are all Zandarian parties this wild?"

"No, I think this is more of an Amber Beach thing." She responded. "Most of the parties back home are pretty dull in comparison. Usually it's a case of introducing Phillipe to just about every eligible noblewoman in a thousand miles in the hopes he decided he likes one of them."

"Really?" Matt asked.

"His dad seems to think if he marries Phillipe off, maybe he'll settle down and not go off on all his little adventures as he puts it." Margaret told him.

"Yeah, because I can see THAT happening." He said with a chuckle. He looked over to where Chloe was looking more than a little miserable. "What's with her?"

"Oh...I think she might be breaking out of that whole 'boys are icky' stage." She told him. Matt looked a little confused. "A literal Prince Charming did whisk her off her feet and carry her to safety."

"So she's...?"

"It's pretty cute...though I'm not sure Phillipe's noticed yet." Margaret said with a smile. As they cleared up some more stuff, Matt recoiled as something cut his fingers. He looked to the piece of metal on the floor, before picking it up carefully.

"What...what exactly is this?" He asked. It looked like a blade, but it was much too large to be a broken knife or anything of the sort. Margaret looked to him.

"That looks like a piece of that monster's weapon." She told him. "It said something about cutting friendship bonds."

"I guess that explains why they're all at each other's throats." Matt surmised. "How did it break?"

"Well...when I saved Phillipe, the monster tried to use it on me. He wanted to get me out of the way." She told him. "But when he tried, the blade broke."

"But why would...?" Matt started to ask, before just putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll get this to Kendall. Maybe she can figure out how to reverse what it does."

As he left, Margaret went back to clearing up, but as she did, she saw Phillipe come back into the main room. As he did so, he saw Chloe looking miserable and headed over to check on her. As he started to comfort her, holding her softly, she just groaned and shook her head.

"Get a grip on yourself Margaret." She muttered. "You're jealous of a bloody 8-year-old."

Kendall was in the lab Phillipe had created in his basement, analysing the footage of the battle. She was hoping, as always, that by watching the battle, she would be able to find something that the monster did, something that could give them that would tip the scales in their favour. At least, that would normally be the case. However, while the Rangers were at each other's throats, forming any kind of strategy seemed like an uphill struggle. If anything, she was just hoping for anything that would make the odds as even as possible. Sledge had only shown up to battles a couple of times, but when he did, it became apparent his reputation throughout the galaxy was not mere hype. His power in the few battles he had shown up to had left no one in any doubt he'd be a tough opponent even if the Rangers were on the same page. Kendall didn't like to admit it, but things were looking pretty bleak right now.

"That monster, he didn't swing the blades anywhere near them." Kendall remarked, checking out the footage. "He...he missed all of them."

As she saw Margaret stepping in just as Sheafear went for Phillipe, she saw him once again swinging, and missing with one of his blades. However, something curious happened. The blade sparked as though it had struck something extraordinarily hard or dense. She had to re-wind and replay the scene a couple of times before realising that the blade had shattered, and pieces spun away to the ground. She furrowed her brows, checking the footage.

"You weren't aiming for Margaret." She mused. "What happened here?"

"The blade isn't meant to harm people." Matt told her as he arrived in the lab. Kendall looked around, seeing him approaching, holding a piece of the blade. "Margaret heard him say something about aiming to cut friendship bonds."

"That...that...makes sense." Kendall concluded, thinking about how the Rangers had suddenly turned viciously on each other. Like any group who spent a lot of time around each other, they had their fights. It wasn't the first time she had heard someone lecture Chase on his thoughtless ways or seen Shelby stomp off in a strop because of some careless thing one of the guys had said. However, they were genuinely very close. Hell, Tyler, Chase, Riley and Ivan all lived together in the same apartment, which was never designed to hold more than three people, for almost a whole year without killing each other. She could remember back in college having come up with at least thirteen different scenarios in which she could rid herself of her roommate without leaving any forensic evidence, and her only crime was a terrible case of snoring. "The monster cut their friendship bonds, so now..."

"Now instead of working together, they spend all their time fighting each other." Matt concluded. "He must not have gotten around to cutting Koda's or Phillipe's bonds."

"Margaret stopped him before he could cut Phillipe's friendship bonds." Matt told her. Kendall just looked back to the screen.

"He tried to cut Margaret's bonds." Kendall told him. "But the blade broke. Why would it work on the Rangers but not her?"

Matt just looked at her, a little smirk crossing his face. Kendall was smart about a lot of things, but every now and again, especially when it came to people, she could be a little slower than most.

"Really?" He asked her. "Think about the Rangers that have been affected. Who are the only two that aren't tearing each other to ribbons?"

"Tyler and Shelby." She responded. The penny suddenly dropped as she thought about it. She looked to him. "You mean...?"

"It doesn't work on bonds stronger than friendship." He responded. "Maybe he needs a different blade for that."

"Is that...?"

"This is a piece of his blade." Matt said, handing her the blade, being careful not to cause her any harm. "I was thinking maybe if you could analyse it, you could think of a way to reverse the effects or something."

"Right now, I'm willing to try anything." Kendall told him. "There isn't enough aspirin in the world to put up with all this arguing."

"Where are you going?" He asked her as she wrapped up the blade and started to head out the door.

"I'm going back to my lab." She told him. "Phillipe's got an impressive facility here, but there's a lot of stuff in my lab no one else has."

"Well then...you might want to put on a coat or something." He suggested.

"Why would I..." She looked down and realised she was still wearing her cupid costume. She just sighed. "Good call."

With that, she grabbed a coat and pulled it on, before heading out of the door. Matt just smiled as he saw her go.

"That's my girl." He said with a distinct note of pride in his voice.

Back on Sledge's ship, Sledge came into the lab finding Shearfear busy repairing his blade. He looked to the machine, seeing it sparking as he ran the blade across the sharpening wheel, grinding it into a fine edge.

"How much longer is this going to take?" He asked.

"Hey, I'm much better at swinging blades than forging them!" Shearfear told him. "You're the one that sent Wrench to New Zealand."

"There are still two Rangers left to isolate." He responded. "You better be ready. If you screw up one more time..."

"Uh...don't worry Master Sledge." Shearfear responded nervously. "By the time I'm finished here, my blade would be able to slice apart the deepest of friendships."

"It better!" Sledge warned him. As he left, Shearfear looked to his blade, and gulped.

"I...really hope this holds up." He murmured to himself. "If I mess up again, Sledge will atomise me for sure!"

Meanwhile, down in Wellington, New Zealand, a man walked into a bank, carrying a large duffle bag. He was wearing a ball cap, which he had pulled down low over his face. He looked around the street, looking a little shifty. He headed inside, burying his hand in the duffle bag. A little further down the street, a white-haired man was watching him. He could see the man was looking a little edgy for just heading into a bank for an early morning transaction. He looked around, before heading to the door.

Inside the bank, the man looked to the queues lining up by the counter. All those people, all of them bringing money to the bank...he had chosen his time well! He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking around, he saw a security guard standing behind him.

"Sorry sir, you have to remove your hat." He told him. "Bank..."

His words tailed off as the stranger swung around. He could now see he also had a scarf over his face. He spun around, knocking the security guard to the floor. The crowd all turned to see what the commotion was, just as he pulled a sawn-off shotgun out of his bag, cocking the mechanism. There were a few screams as he started to wave it around. He had hoped to get to the counter before he made his move, but now he was having to improvise.

"EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR!" He yelled as he waved the gun around. "Everyone eat the floor and no one gets hurt!"

He ran to the counter and put the bag down on it, before pointing the gun at the teller.

"YOU! Fill the bag, NOW!" He barked at her, levelling the gun at her. "DO IT!"

"That's more than enough of that you scallywag!" He heard a voice behind him say. Everyone looked up in time to see a man in purple spandex, and wearing a helmet. He was standing with his hands on his hips.

"It's the Violet Avenger!" One of the customers said excitedly. They had all heard of the purple-clad vigilante that had shown up in town lately. He had been something of a buzz in the minor news lately, constantly filling spare column inches in the middle sheets with his antics, stopping bag snatchers and minor crooks.

"Now, why don't you just get out of here before...?" He suddenly paused as the robber turned around. He gulped as he saw the gun. He hadn't thought of that when he came into the bank. Thinking about it now, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of him carrying a gun. Who went to rob a bank unarmed? He had taken down bike thieves, but generally they took bikes that were unattended and didn't need weapons. He had taken down bag snatchers, but they usually relied on shock to get what they wanted and again tended not to be armed. He'd seen a knife or two, but as he saw the robber turn the gun on him, he suddenly felt his heart freezing. He held up his hands. "Now...let's not do anything hasty..."

"I think you should be going before this gets messy!" The robber warned him. The purple Ranger started to move closer, hoping to reason with the robber.

"Now, you know who I am. You know what I've done. Do you really want to try your luck?" He asked, trying to sound as confident as possible, but he could feel his legs turning to jelly beneath him, and his stomach tying up into knots. The unfortunate fact about the spandex was it was so tight-fitting that it hid nothing. The robber could see him trembling.

"Since I've got eight shells and you have some cheap spandex...I think I'll take my chances!" The robber told him. "On the floor!"

"Now, why don't we all calm down and...?" He was cut off and knocked clean off his feet as the shotgun roared into life. He hit the floor hard, amid a shower of sparks. He opened his eyes, finding to his surprise that he was still alive. More than that, he didn't feel like he had been shot at all! Not that he could really compare having never been shot before. He felt like he'd been punched hard, and he was sure he'd have impressive bruises, but that was about it. He knew that the suit gave him great power, but he had no idea it would save him from a gun! He peeled himself off the floor, finding the robber had turned his attention back to the bank teller.

He approached him, tapping him on the shoulder. As the robber turned around, he was shocked to see the Purple Ranger standing behind him. He snatched the gun off him.

"THAT wasn't very nice!" He snapped, punching the robber in the face, knocking him cold in one shot. He cocked the slide on the shotgun, ejecting the rest of the cartridges, before handing the gun to the teller.

"This young ruffian won't try that again!" He told her. "Call the police. I have a city to save!"

With that, he ran out of the bank to a chorus of cheers. He ran a decent distance, heading into a back alley before changing back. He looked down to his chest and smiled.

"I...I made it! That...that was the most incredible feeling of my life!" He said with a huge smile, before it slipped. "I...I was just...I could have..."

With that, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted, landing on a crumpled heap on the ground.


	25. A Strong Bond

Morning came around, and the Rangers came into Phillipe's office in the Embassy. Kendall and Phillipe had decided that it was probably for the best that they stay somewhere that they could keep an eye on them. Under the influence of Shearfear's spell, they were at each other's throats. It was like any tiny slight, anything that even marginally irritated them about each other got blown up out of all proportion. Chase, Tyler, Riley and Ivan all lived together in an apartment that already was only ever designed for two people, perhaps three at a stretch, and with no one there to referee, it seemed sending them there would just be an invitation for a bloodbath!

Phillipe had arranged for breakfast to be served in his office. To say it was a tense affair would be an understatement.

"Would you like some bacon with your ketchup?" Tyler muttered as Riley squirted a good dollop onto his plate. "Some of the rest of us might like some."

Riley slid the bottle across the table, purposefully a little too hard, forcing Tyler to react quickly to catch it before it flew off the table.

"It needs SOMETHING to give it some flavour." Riley grumbled. "You guys don't even know what real bacon tastes like. This stuff is so heavily cured it tastes of nothing but salt."

"Oh, spare us the 'everything is better on the farm' deal." Chase responded as he hacked away at a hash brown. "You grew up in the ass end of nowhere, we get it. It's not like we don't hear it every day."

"Oh, like you don't constantly bore us with New Zealand stuff." Shelby responded with a derisive snort. "Oh, we don't have to strap on a hundred pounds of armour to play Rugby."

"I don't..."

"The surf is so much better back home." Riley said, mocking Chase's accent.

"I can't help it if we have a better climate..."

"And the views are so spectacular back home." Tyler added. They all laughed as they got to this point. Chase looked a little sour, but he did smile a little.

"I suppose I do talk about it a lot." He replied as he took some toast from a rack on the table. "I haven't been home in so long. I just really miss it."

"I guess having Chloe here's reminded you a lot of home." Phillipe interjected, noting this turn in the conversation. "It must get you thinking a lot about what you left behind."

"I didn't leave that much." Chase admitted. "After High School I was just kind of coasting. Doing a few dead-end jobs here and there, bumming about on the skate parks...I just hadn't figured out what I wanted to do until all this began."

"I suppose I wasn't too sure either." Tyler admitted. "I left pretty much straight after High School to start searching for my dad. That's pretty much all I've been doing."

Just then, Koda came into the room, carrying some bags with him, dumping them on the floor. They all looked to him a little confused by this.

"Koda, what's with all the luggage?" Tyler asked.

"Training gear." Koda told them. "You all fight too much. We need work together, rebuild strong friendship."

"Koda..."

"After breakfast, come with me." Koda told them. "I have idea."

"Koda, we might not be friends, but we don't need to be." Shelby responded. "We can still fight together. Who ever likes everyone they work with?"

"NO! I don't believe!" Koda put down flatly. "Last fight; spend all time fighting each other!"

"He has a point." Phillipe agreed, looking to Koda. "So, what do you have in mind?"

"Finish breakfast." He told them, sitting down and starting to fill his plate. "Have big day planned."

Over in her lab, Kendall rubbed her eyes as she continued to work away on her computers. She had been working all night long to try and figure out how Shearfear had managed to sever the Ranger's friendships. With a piece of his blade to analyse, she was trying out every theory she could think of.

The thing that troubled her most in all of it was that friendship was not something that leant itself well to any form of solid science to explain. Normally she'd be looking for cause and effect, the triggering factor in anything, but that eluded her. There was no simple explanation. It wasn't as though they were friends because they did things to help each other, that would be simple to replicate. While they did do a lot to help each other, switching shifts to allow each other to keep appointments, making meals, running errands etc. and often these acts would be reciprocated, this wasn't always the case. Sometimes they did things when they knew the act would not be repaid or there was no real material gain whatsoever.

They weren't friends because they were Rangers, or because they worked together, Kendall knew that much. There were other people working at the museum now, and not all of them were exactly friends with the Rangers, or each other. She did have to explain once or twice that the Rangers had "other qualifications" and "extra responsibilities" as a dig team when other employees expressed frustration at being abandoned at busy periods with no explanation or when Kendall seemed to favour them for the perks such as social events and suchlike. It wasn't like she invited all of her employees to accept Prince Phillipe's invitation to the Embassy party.

The whole situation got to her, but she had to admit that it wasn't just because of the fact she was watching her team tear each other apart. It was the way it made her look at her own life. She loved her team, she loved having friends now, but if she was honest, she couldn't really put her finger on how it happened. She couldn't think of one defining moment that they went from being acquaintances to being friends. For so long, she had kept her distance from others in her field, many of whom didn't hide the fact they didn't think she belonged or that she got to where she was for reasons other than her hard work and intelligence. With the exception of Anton, there was a brief time that she had thought that one of her colleagues was becoming a friend. He worked with her on a post-grad paper, only to let her down when he published it with only his name listed as a contributor. She had for most of the early days maintained a distance from her Rangers, but somewhere along the line, she found herself smiling just thinking about them, or finding things that amused her or interested her and thinking she couldn't wait until she could share it with them. It was clear they were friends, but she couldn't actually think when that had happened. It just kind of...happened.

She looked to one of her many computers as it found something about the blade. It wasn't just an ordinary blade, she already knew that much. Its chemical composition was only partially made up of elements on Earth's periodic table, again she wasn't surprised. Being an alien, she didn't doubt that on his home planet, there would be things that weren't available on Earth, just as she was sure that there were things on Earth that weren't available anywhere else. What intrigued her though was that the blade emitted a low level of radiation. The computer assured her it wasn't harmful, but the radiation didn't seem to be in the spectrum she was aware of.

"Alright, what is going on here?" She asked, starting to run any kind of comparisons they could on the radiation. She found that there was something it was similar to, but it troubled her. There was a certain level of an unknown radiation that registered on her equipment...when Ivan and Riley returned from the tourney!

"It's magic?" She stated, beginning to think about it. She didn't claim to know much about magic. Not real magic anyway, she knew about the tricks performed on stage, and while she didn't claim to know how all of them were performed, she knew that they were more about misdirection and had very logical explanations how they were performed but REAL magic? That was something else entirely. She knew that the Energems had a power she didn't fully understand. Her technology harnessed that power, but the power itself was well beyond even her understanding.

It wasn't the first time that Ranger teams utilised magic as a power source. While most used technology to harness the power, the power itself was mystical in nature. Indeed, the Lightspeed team was the first team that had used powers that were completely man-made. This could only complicate matters.

The team that were closest to the mystical nature of their powers, their magic, were the Mystic Force team. Anton had explained to her at length about the Rangers he had met in his time within their world. Unfortunately, even if she could find the Mystic Rangers, she doubted they would be able to teach her everything she needed to know about magic in time. From what she understood, those connected to magic were reluctant to teach, since by nature it was dangerous knowledge to have. They were reluctant to even talk about it according to Anton, but there was one underlying thing that she had heard from all Anton's story. Where there was a spell, there was a counter-spell.

"Great, now all I have to do is figure out magic without a tutor in one day." She grumbled thinking about it. It was an impossible task, one that she had no idea how to accomplish. It would have been so much easier if it was just another of Wrench's devices. Even if she wasn't always familiar with the exact devices he used, she was usually able to figure out the technology behind it.

She turned her attention back to the screen, to the one indicating the radiation caused by the magic within the blade and she smiled as a thought came to her.

"This is probably the woolliest theory you've ever had Kendall." She remarked as she started to get to work. "I really hope this works."

Up on Sledge's ship, Shearfear was working hard, repairing his blade and getting it ready for the battle ahead when Sledge came into the lab. He grabbed a workbench, throwing it and scattering tools everywhere. Rather than a fit of temper though, he didn't actually seem to be enraged. If anything, he seemed...energised! He turned to Shearfear.

"Are you done with that thing yet?" He asked as he grabbed up his blaster rifle.

"You're looking..."

"I feel like I could take on an ARMY of Rangers!" Sledge rushed out as he started his usual checks on his blaster. "A little time with my fiancée..."

"I...think I get the picture." Shearfear interrupted him, holding up a hand, hoping that he would mercifully stop. He really didn't need that mental image.

"So, is your blade ready?" Sledge asked him. "I want to press the advantage as soon as possible!"

"It's not quite ready." Shearfear replied. He could see a distinct turn in Sledge's mood and started to back up. "I just want to be sure I don't make any more mistakes like the last time..."

"See that you don't!" Sledge snarled, slamming a fist into a bulkhead behind him. "By the end of the day, either my fiancée has an Energem wedding ring, or a new set of toenail clippers! Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes Mater Sledge." He responded in a meek little squeak as Sledge left the room. He went back to work, examining his blade. It looked like it was ready, but the last thing he wanted was to risk Sledge's wrath if something went wrong a second time.

He looked to the blade, examining it through the green lens of his viewing glass, checking the magic imbued into it.

"Everything seems to be as it should." He said as he considered it. He couldn't help running the footage of his previous battle with the Rangers again. "So what am I missing?"

He watched as his blade smashed against Margaret's bond again, seeing the piece spinning away. He looked a little closer as he ran the footage again, this time checking through the red lens of his spy glass.

"Of course." He responded as he saw the problem. He had been incarcerated on Sledge's ship so long, it never occurred to him. There was friendship in Margaret's bond with Phillipe, but there was also something else, something much stronger. He hadn't seen it in so long it never occurred to him. He got back to work on his blade.

"I should have known." He said as he got to work. "By the time I'm finished with this, no bond will stand in my way."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, the Rangers arrived at their destination. They had all followed Koda at his insistence. They were a little surprised though to see he had brought them to the gym.

"This is your idea?" Tyler asked him. "You want us to work out?"

"Koda, we train every day." Chase reminded him. "What are we doing here?"

"Need work on friendship." Koda told them. "What make good friendship? Strong friendship?"

The team all looked around, not quite understanding what Koda was getting at. Tyler looked to Chase.

"Trust." He responded. "Knowing that someone will cover your back!"

"I was dealing with..."

"Yes! Trust very important!" Koda agreed as he interjected to stop this devolving into another argument. "What else?"

"Working together." Phillipe stated. "Friends should be able to work as a team, to make things easier on each other."

"Glad you say that." Koda said with a smile as he stepped away from them a little. "NOW!"

They all turned in time to see Alessandra running straight for the ropes. She leapt into the air, soaring straight over the ropes. She landed on Koda's shoulder, rolling over to land nimbly on her feet as Koda fell backwards, landing on the floor. Koda got up to his feet as Alessandra looked to the Rangers.

"Koda tell us you fall out." Alessandra told them. "Ask us to help."

"A good friendship relies on trust and co-operation." Jack said as he stepped around the ring, coming into view. "Some of the best friends I've ever had I knew through this industry."

"Wrestling?" Chase asked, looking a little sceptical. "You want us to wrestle?"

"Trust and co-operation are vital for this too." Jack said, ignoring Chase's remark. He gestured to Alessandra. "What you just saw her do, she could only do because she knew Koda would be there."

"I trust Koda to catch." She told them as she put her arm around the Blue Ranger.

"The top rope is about ten feet from the floor." Jack told the team as he patted Koda on the shoulder. "As soon as Alessandra made her jump, she lost all ability to stop her momentum. If Koda didn't catch her, she'd have fallen all that way straight onto solid concrete, and we'd be scraping her onto a stretcher."

"So...you want us to do...that?" Riley asked. None of the others looked particularly convinced either. He just chuckled.

"Alessandra's done this for years; this is a bit beyond your first lesson." He told them. "But we will teach you some things, and trust me; your safety WILL be in each other's hands. So take that responsibility seriously."

"So...we're going to spend the day learning to pretend were fighting?" Chase asked. Jack just looked to Koda.

"I'll pair up with that one first." He said, before taking Chase aside. "Oh, just to let you know, there's another thing you need to learn about this business...respect."

Back at the Embassy, Margaret was overseeing the damage control efforts, and not just the repairs to the building. She was on the phone to what seemed like the thousandth reporter to phone asking for a word with the Prince regarding the attack at the party.

"I'm sorry, but the Prince is unavailable for comment at this time." She said wearily, parroting the party line she had said more times than she had cared to count. She opened up a note on her palm pilot to take his details. "If you would leave your name, publication, a number we can contact you on and your deadline date, someone will be in touch with you once we have prepared an official statement..."

She tailed off as the reporter said something to her.

"Well I'm sorry if you feel that way, but until we prepare an official statement..." She heard something else. "Well, same to you asshole!"

She hung up the phone and leaned back against a wall. Matt arrived a moment later, chuckling as he heard this. It wasn't often that she lost composure.

"So is that official Zandarian policy on dealing with the press?" He asked her. She just groaned.

"No, it really isn't." She answered. "I'm just fed up with all these vultures. I just know they're going to try and paint this as his fault."

"You really think so?" Matt asked her.

"No, I just think that a 25-year-old with little political background trying to be taken seriously as an Ambassador throwing a party at which a bunch of American citizens are attacked isn't going to sell any tabloids at all." She replied sarcastically. "It doesn't matter that people are attacked in this city all the time, this happened at his doorstep."

"You're always trying to protect him aren't you?" Matt asked her.

"It's kind of in the job description." She responded. Matt didn't look convinced at all. He just sat on a desk, looking at her.

"It's a lot more than that isn't it?" He asked her. "He doesn't know how you feel does he?"

"I'm sorry?" She asked him in response. He just smiled.

"I kind of suspected there was something when I first met the two of you." Matt told her. "Now, I'm convinced. Why have you never told him?"

She didn't answer. She just looked to the phone as it started ringing. She sent it straight to voice-mail.

"I've...I've grown up with him." She responded. "I've been around the household my whole life. I'm more than aware what's expected of him."

"What's expected of him?" He asked.

"His dad would completely freak if his son told him he wanted to be with his bodyguard." Margaret told him. "He's already tried to set him up with a bunch of noblewomen from all across Europe..."

"Well, I don't claim to know much about the rules of aristocracy, but from what little I know about Phillipe, he's more into making his own traditions than listening to his father's." Matt told her. "He's here isn't he? Didn't his dad say this was a waste of time?"

"You really think it's that simple?" She asked him. He just shrugged.

"All I think is it might be worth letting him make the decision himself." Matt told her. "Think about it would you?"


	26. Buying Some Time

Over at the gym, the Rangers were working hard on the drills and exercises set out by Jack and Alessandra. With the exception of Koda, none of them were really into wrestling. They had enjoyed what they had seen when they took Koda along, but for the most part it really wasn't their speed. However, given the dire situation they were all in, they were all willing to give just about anything a shot at this point.

Their last battle had been a disaster. They had spent so much time calling each other on their mistakes and fighting among themselves that they had ended up being handed a humiliating defeat. It was only Phillipe calling out the Pachy Zord that had given them the somewhat messy draw by punting Sledge and the others out of the battle. Of course now that he had done that, they could be sure that when Sledge and his cronies DID return, they would be out for payback, and prepared to sink to just about any level. This was just one of the drawbacks behind escalating a conflict, and the main reason the Rangers had always had the rule against escalating a conflict until they had been left no option by their enemies. It just encouraged them to take things further.

Jack grabbed Chase, hooking his head under his arm, before turning him upside down, carrying him over in a vertical suplex. Unfortunately, it looked somewhat sloppy and by the time Chase landed, Jack crawled over, gripping him in a tight choke.

"What did I say about helping with the lift?" He growled at the New Zealander. Chase struggled on the floor. While he was probably stronger than Jack, he found himself unable to move against the pressure he was exerting. It wasn't just strength Jack was using to control him, his technique was excellent. Virtually anything Chase did only increased the pressure on him. His face was red as Jack released him and helped him up. "When I lift you, I'm responsible for ensuring you land safely, but YOU are responsible for helping me lift you! If you don't go with me, then both of us can get hurt!"

"One of us is." Chase muttered. Jack just shook his head and looked to Koda.

"Big guy, over here a second!" He called over. "Everyone watch this for a moment."

He hooked Koda in position for the suplex, at which he lifted him up. Koda kicked off the ground to help him, and placing a hand on Jack's chest, balanced himself. He was lifted up high, and ended up upside down, balancing on Jack's shoulders. The older wrestler held him up in an impressive display.

"You see, if Koda helps with the lift, I can get him into position easier." Jack told them. "Now he's helping to balance his own weight, which is why I can hold him like this."

He held him for a few more seconds, before falling backwards, bringing Koda to the floor. He got up and looked to the others.

"Koda trusts me to hold him if he carries his weight." Jack explained. "I trust him to carry his weight. If either of us doesn't do that, the whole thing goes wrong and one of us can get hurt."

"So we need to work together." Ivan concluded. Jack just nodded.

"Maybe I'm moving a little fast. Perhaps some chain wrestling will be a little less demanding." He suggested. "Here's a short sequence that shouldn't be too difficult. It won't require any of you to bump, but it does still require you both to work together. You'll be in close, and need to move in unison..."

"Like a dance!" Chase suggested. Jack just sighed, and looked to Koda. The Blue Ranger just shook his head. He'd already given Chase a few stiff shots, and Koda was worried that Chase would start to take it all a little personally.

"I guess in a way it is a little like social dancing." He responded, letting it go. "Just...with a little more contact. So pay attention, and try as best you can to follow."

Back at the Embassy, Mrs Griffin was at a loose end. Living with two young boys growing up as a single parent for most of her days, she was used to the place being out of sorts, and she was used to being the one to do the majority of the clean up whenever Riley left his books lying around or Matt forgot to hang up his wet weather gear after his chores. There wasn't much she could do during the attack, but now the clean up was underway, she found herself in a very unfamiliar position. Phillipe had a full staff that were doing all the work for him. She had offered to help, but very quickly it became apparent she wasn't needed to help.

She had resorted to one of the few things that she actually could do to help, and was in the kitchen preparing some refreshments. She was in the middle of squeezing some lemons for fresh lemonade when Chloe came into the room. She still hadn't been allowed to return to the motel her class was staying at, and with everyone leaving, she was at a loose end. It wasn't as though the security staff were really there to be child care, and so she had been left largely to her own devices. She had gone to the kitchen, seeing something to eat.

Chloe just wordlessly made her way into the room and started to look through the cupboards for something. Mrs Griffin noted this, and finally said something.

"Can I help you find something?" She asked.

"I'll be fine." She replied rather miserably. Mrs Griffin smiled a little hearing her accent.

"Wait...your Chase's little sister aren't you?" She asked. Chloe just nodded as she continued to root around in the cupboards. "Well, I'm Riley's mom."

"I thought this was supposed to be a fancy place where they invited important people all the time!" Chloe complained. "How can anyone invite important people round and not have any biscuits?"

"Oh, I'm sure I saw some around while I was looking out things for my lemonade." She answered, beginning to look around some of the higher up cupboards that Chloe couldn't reach. She looked to the little girl, noting her slightly sour demeanour. "It's been some visit hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it's been great." Chloe replied sarcastically. "I've spent almost all my time stuck in here, my brother keeps disappearing...I'd have been as well staying at home in school!"

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true." Mrs Griffin said as she finally found a packet of cookies. She looked to them and smiled. "Chocolate chip! It seems the Prince has good taste."

"Yeah, his taste is great. That's why he has all this old junk cluttering up the place." Chloe said, sulking a little. Mrs Griffin couldn't help noticing this. She poured the young girl some lemonade, coming to sit with her.

"Really? From what I heard you really enjoyed the tour." Mrs Griffin answered. "From what I heard, you had that camera phone glued to your hand the whole time."

"Yeah, I'm going to have to delete a lot of those photos." She grumbled. "Stupid, foreign place no one's heard of. No wonder no one wants to visit them!"

"Well, Phillipe certainly seems nice enough." Mrs Griffin replied. "He spent a while in Millport you know. He really helped out after a major storm hit us and caused a lot of damage. I heard he even saved a little girl not so far from here."

Chloe didn't say anything, just eating some cookies. Mrs Griffin smiled a little, seeing her reaction.

"I don't think it's really this place you're upset about is it?" She asked her. Chloe just sulked.

"Yes it is, this whole place is stupid!" She whined. "I just want to go home and forget all about Amber Beach and Zandar."

"You know, it is pretty impressive what Phillipe did to save you." She responded. "I mean, he has all that security, and yet he put himself on the line to whisk you away..."

"Yeah, it was kind of..."

"Not to mention he is kind of a dish." Mrs Griffin told her. Chloe just looked to her. "Don't be so surprised, I'm old, not blind. If I was about twenty years younger, I might be interested. Not to mention that accent and those eyes..."

Chloe didn't say anything. Mrs Griffin just put her arm around her.

"What's wrong with me?" Chloe asked her. "I know he's older, but...you hear about age gaps all the time in relationships and..."

"It's a little different when one of those involved is only eight years old." She commented. "I know it feels really intense right now, and I don't want to just be one of those people that tells you it was all just a crush and that you'll get over it. I know that right now it doesn't feel like it."

"You wouldn't..."

"You know, I was a girl myself once. I know how intense these things can be." Mrs Griffin told her. "I know you don't want to hear about how you'll forget all about him and you'll find someone your own age. Right now, you know how you feel and it hurts that you know he doesn't feel the same way."

"I was just so sure." Chloe muttered. "He's not like any of the boys I know. They're all icky and stupid and..."

"And they're BOYS." Mrs Griffin chuckled. "Phillipe's a man. There's a big difference. You have to give them a chance; the boys will grow up eventually. Believe me, I know, I've had two of them."

"But what do I do now?" Chloe asked her. Mrs Griffin just smiled and poured her some more lemonade.

"For now, just enjoy being a kid." She told her. "Trust me; you'll spend way too much time worrying about all of this stuff as it is in a few years time. You only get once chance to be a kid. Don't be in too big a hurry to grow up."

Chloe hugged her tightly. Mrs Griffin reminded her a lot of her own mom. She was a long way from home, and she had wished her mom was there for her at this time, but right now, she was glad that someone there seemed to understand her.

"It's a shame both your kids were boys." Chloe told her. "I think any girl would have been lucky to have a mom like you."

"Well, I wouldn't trade my boys for anything." She answered. "Though for a while I was hoping Riley would be a girl. That's why I picked the name. When it turned out he was a boy, I liked it so much...I just kind of stuck with it."

Chloe couldn't help laughing, hearing that as Mrs Griffin went to serve up some lemonade to those still working to clear up the Embassy.

Back at the gym, Phillipe headed to the side, taking a breather from the workout. The Rangers were still working hard, trying to get the hang of what they were learning. While they couldn't help the fact that they were still finding it difficult to get along, they were determined to figure out how to at least work together. He took a long swig from a bottle of water when he noticed something. His Dino Comm was flashing. He looked around, seeing the others working and could see that they were still struggling. They were stumbling through their exercises, occasionally exchanging a few choice words when they didn't work out.

He opened it and took a look at it, seeing a reading within the city. It looked like Sledge and his cronies had returned sooner than expected. Like him, the others must have put their morphers on silent. Looking around one more time, he saw Riley lying on the mat, gesturing wildly and yelling something at Tyler as he got back to his feet. He looked to the morpher and back to the team.

"Hey, Jack?" He asked. "I need to use the bathroom..."

"Fine, go ahead." He responded, waving him off. "Come on, it's not that difficult, just post the arm up and slip under it...SHELBY! We work from the LEFT! No, your OTHER left!"

Phillipe grabbed his bag and slipped unseen out the door. He didn't doubt it was a questionable move to take on Shearfear and Sledge by himself, but he was confident the team would need more time to figure out how to work together. Right now, his job was to buy them that time.

Over in the Dino Lab, Kendall was working hard on her latest idea, putting together some new Dino Chargers. She too had seen the alert, and could only hope that the Rangers were on their way.

"Come on, just a few more minutes..." She pleaded, waiting as the task bar counted down the download of new data to her Dino Chargers. She turned to the other computer, pulling up details of the force that had been sent down. She recoiled as she saw the power levels on the screen.

"Oh...this is not good!" She commented. She grabbed her Dino Comm and activated it. "Rangers...RANGERS!"

"I'm here Ms Morgan." Phillipe responded.

"Phillipe, it looks like Shearfear is back, and Sledge has tagged along for the ride!" She responded.

"I know, I'm already on my way." Phillipe told her. Kendall just looked a little surprised.

"Wait, YOU'RE on your way?" She asked. "What about the others?"

"They're...um...they're not working together too well right now." Phillipe told her.

"So you're going YOURSELF?" She shrieked. Phillipe just nodded.

"That would be the case." He responded.

"Phillipe, there's no way you're a match for them by yourself!" She rushed out.

"That's a very interesting idea of a pep talk you have there!" He replied. Kendall just rolled her eyes.

"I've been working on something that I think might help." She told him.

"I'm already on my way, I'll buy you time." Phillipe told her. "The others are at the gym."

"Phillipe, don't go by yourself!" She beckoned him. "PHILLIPE! Damn it!"

She rushed to the console as it finished the download, snatching a Dino Charger from it. She looked to it, and closed her eyes, gripping her tightly.

"Kendall, now we find out how smart you really are." She commented to herself, grabbing her jacket. "I really hope this works."

 **A/N:** Sorry for the slow rate of these chapters as of late. While I will admit that I've slowed down a little until Supercharge begins over here (the sources I normally get my episodes from have dried up and I'm not likely to receive the episodes until SEPTEMBER), I will admit to slacking off a little. Please rest assured I will continue, just don't be surprised if it takes a while. Thank you all for your continued patience.


	27. Friendship Cuts Deeply

Sledge was in the middle city, observing patiently as Shearfear and his Viviks were causing mayhem. Shearfear, with his newly repaired and improved blade, was enjoying testing it out on everyone that was unfortunate enough to get close enough. Sledge was sitting on a car he had dented into roughly the shape of an armchair and watched, chuckling in delight as a couple of cops were involved in a shoving contest over who got to add a parking ticket to their daily quota, while the driver and passenger in the car were rolling around the ground in a brawl, arguing about whose fault it was that they were getting a ticket.

"I don't know why Poisandra wastes her time with all those 'Reality shows.' This is the funniest thing I've seen in years." Sledge chuckled. Looking around, he saw a metal bar that was lying on the ground and tossed it between the two motorists, escalating that little spat as they now realised they had a weapon available to vent their frustrations with. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Graphite Ranger appeared on the scene, ripping the bar out of the driver's hand before he could start pummelling his passenger with it.

"You can settle this later! Right now, you might want to worry about THEM!" He pointed out, bringing their attention to the monsters. The motorists decided he had a point and ran away. He grabbed the two cops, who were by now involved in a demented tango of sorts, trying to headlock each other and choke the other out. "YOU! Get these people out of here!"

"I'm not working with him...!"

"Your badges say 'Serve and Protect!' they say nothing about liking each other!" Phillipe interjected. He could see that they weren't interested as they started yelling their points at him about the parking ticket. He sighed and tried a different tack. "You know what? Who cares about a parking ticket? If you really want to show each other up, I'm sure the department will be looking for who got most of these people to safety!"

They just stared at each other, and he could see that they were thinking about it.

"Who cares about making a parking ticket quota when you can have a nice commendation to rub in the other's face?" He asked. With that, they both ran off and started doing everything they could to direct the bystanders into some kind of an organised evacuation. Sledge got up off the makeshift armchair.

"You again?" He asked.

"You have no right to harm these people Sledge!" Phillipe called out, confronting him. "Leave at once!"

Sledge and the others just stared at him, before Sledge burst out laughing.

"You're a little short-handed don't you think?" He asked him. "Is this your new plan? You think if you come one at a time we can't turn you against each other?"

"It will only take one of us to take you down!" Phillipe yelled as he ran towards him, pouring blasts from his Dino Blaster into him. Sledge recoiled a couple of times as blasts rebounded off his armour. Phillipe leapt at him, bringing down his Dino Sabre, only for Sledge to catch it in his gauntlet. Phillipe struggled a little against his grip, but couldn't free it. Sledge followed up by punching him square in the chest, sending him flying straight into the entrance lobby of a movie theatre. He groaned as he started to slowly get up. He saw Sledge coming into the foyer, followed by Shearfear and the Viviks started to pour in. Phillipe steadied himself against a pillar as he got to his feet.

"I thought you were meant to be tough Sledge!" Phillipe called out, shifting his gaze around the monsters filing into the room. "Are you afraid to face me in a fair fight?"

"Like you did when you called your Zord?" Sledge asked, heading to the concession stand and helping himself to some popcorn. "YOU made the rules. Don't complain now they don't suit you."

"Maybe I didn't think this one all the way through." Phillipe said with a gulp as Sledge gestured his minions to attack.

In another area of the city, Kendall was driving over to the gym, hoping to fetch the others before Phillipe was overwhelmed. Driving across the city in the height of an attack was rarely easy, but this time it was complicated even further. People spilled into the street, more concerned with their own petty fights than more pressing matters like oncoming traffic. She hit the brakes, only narrowly avoiding turning a pedestrian into street pizza as she stormed away from a guy who was following her.

"Hey, are you alright?" Kendall asked, getting out. The woman just ignored her.

"That's it Jodie, you run away like you always do, just when things are starting to get real!" The guy called out.

"I almost hit..."

"I'm not running out on ANYTHING Barry! I'm just leaving!" She yelled. "Not all of us live in our parents' basement and pretend the band we formed in college is still going to make it someday, some of us have actual lives to get on with!"

"Every time your mother texts, you run out like..."

"MY DAD HAS DIMENTIA!" She screamed at him. "Sometimes she needs help!"

Kendall cold see that this was going to go on for a while and just gave up, taking her bag from the jeep and abandoning it at the side of the road. She started running the remaining few blocks towards the gym, hoping that this delay wasn't going to hold her up too much. Phillipe was buying them time, and it was down to her how much he would have to pay.

At the gym, Jack was watching the Rangers going through their paces, leaning against a wall as he observed them performing, or at least attempting to perform the sequences that he had taught them. He popped a pill into his mouth and washed it down with some Red Bull.

"OW! Ivan, I don't bend that way!" Tyler complained.

"That lump on the floor is my foot Riley!" Shelby grumbled.

He just shook his head in disbelief as Alessandra came over to him.

"They not terrible." She conceded, seeing the scene of carnage on the floor before them. "It only their first day."

Jack just nodded his head in agreement. Both of them had been in the business for several years. He had been wrestling for over thirty years. While he understood that everyone started somewhere, and knew that no one was particularly good at anything when they first started, watching them stumble through routines he had performed literally thousands of times with more people of different sizes weights and fitness levels than he cared to count, it was almost painful to watch. Like a concert pianist that had to watch a novice hammering the keys and hoping for the best.

"I've definitely seen worse." Jack agreed. "I'm just glad your boy Kevin is better."

"Koda." She corrected him. "You tag with him soon, why you not learn name?"

"You know me; I've always been bad with names." Jack told her. She just sighed and looked to him.

"Koda very important to me. Special." She told him. "Please try, for me?"

Just then, the door burst open and Kendall stumbled in, and doubled over, out of breath. The Rangers all came over to see her.

"Kendall, you alright?" Koda asked her.

"You...need...to...go." Kendall told them in laboured gasps as she tried to regain her breath. "Phillipe needs your help."

"Phillipe?" Koda asked. "He go to bathroom..."

"Wait, wasn't that like twenty minutes ago?" Tyler asked, realising the time.

"He's gone. He's in the Odeon on Willow." She told them. "If he doesn't have your help..."

"Ms Morgan, we'll go and help..."

"You will, but not yet!" She told them, pulling out a Dino Blaster. She loaded a Dino Charger into it. She levelled it at them.

"Ms Morgan, what are you...?"

"Have I failed you before?" She asked them. "Now stand together and let me do this!"

The Rangers all bunched together, and Kendall pulled the trigger. They were bathed in a blinding light, and they all felt a warm rush coursing through them. Kendall then gestured to the door.

"What did you...?"

"I'll explain later, now go!" She responded. The Rangers all ran out of the gym, at which Kendall followed them. Jack and Alessandra just stared after them, before looking to each other.

"That's some interesting friends you've got there." Jack stated. Alessandra just nodded, unable to say anything, just as confused with what she had seen as Jack was.

Back at the cinema, Phillipe was fighting for all he was worth, taking down Viviks wherever he could. By now he was under no false impressions about how hopelessly outmatched he was fighting by himself. Right now, his objective was to thin down the numbers as much as he could, and just hope that his friends would pull through for him.

He smashed down a couple of Viviks, only for Shearfear to blast him into one of the theatres. He started to pull himself up, just in time to see Batman rising out of the Batmobile, facing down Superman.

"Oh great." He grumbled. "It's bad enough I'm getting pummelled without being subjected to this."

"You've got more to worry about than just a bad movie!" Shearfear taunted him, approaching him, opening out another blade. "It's a shame none of your friends are here. I guess I'll just have to settle for separating your head from your shoulders!"

He raised his blade, preparing to strike, but before he could, some power blasts tore through the screen, taking him down. The Rangers burst through, coming into the theatre.

"Hell, I'd have considered doing that if Shearfear wasn't behind the screen." Tyler stated, stepping through the wreckage.

"It could have been worse. It could have been Batman and Robin." Chase replied with a shrug. "That movie was so bad the director apologised for making it."*

"You...you're all here?" Shearfear stammered as he started to back up. "But...you should be at each other's throats!"

"We were!" Ivan told him. "But like all evil schemes, we will overcome your vile spells!"

"Quick! Cover my escape!" He yelled as he turned and ran. "I need to...get somewhere I have more room to move!"

"Wow, for a guy with so many blades he sure is good at running from trouble." Chase commented.

"I guess you could say he cut and run." Shelby stated. Chase looked to her and smiled, before chuckling as they all ran into battle.

"Nice one Shelby." He complimented her.

Out in the lobby, Sledge was busy ransacking the concession stand, filling up a large popcorn tub with raspberry slushie when he heard his communicator bleeping. He put a straw into the bucket of frozen slush as he answered it.

"This better be important!" He warned whoever interrupted him when he was so close to seeing a Ranger completely destroyed.

"Sledge, its Fury!" His partner said into the communicator.

"Have you found it?" Sledge asked. He had sent them to New Zealand when it seemed that they had found some radiation that bore a resemblance to Energem energy emanating from that vicinity. The thought of getting a hold of an Energem without a run-in with the Rangers was simply too great an opportunity to pass up.

"Not quite, but the search IS promising." Fury told him. Sledge took a slurp from his beverage.

"You mean you've been there for days, you have literally the whole planet as a head start on the Rangers...and you haven't got it yet?" He asked, slopping his drink on the floor carelessly.

"The radiation is proving difficult to pinpoint." Fury told him. "Fortunately, we've found some interesting rumours..."

"RUMOURS?" Sledge yelled.

"You've been a bounty hunter as long as I have Sledge. You know how invaluable rumours can be." Fury reminded him. "I have some interesting things to show you..."

"I'm away from the ship right now." Sledge told him. "I just need to get back."

With that, Sledge activated his jet pack and blasted off, flying out of the movie theatre. Shearfear scrambled out into the foyer, just in time to see Sledge leaving.

"Master Sledge!" He called out, seeing his boss quitting the battlefield. "MASTER SLEDGE!"

He was now in something of a panic. While he could fight, he definitely preferred to sit back and watch others do so. It was never part of the plan for him to fight. When Sledge told him his plan, he was under the impression all he would have to do is sever the Rangers' friendship bonds, then stand back and let Sledge and his crew do the rest. Now though, Sledge, for whatever reason, had left him alone.

He hurriedly tried to think of where the drop pod was. Where had they landed? Could he get there? If he could, would it take him back to the ship? That thought stopped him cold. What would be worse, facing the Rangers or returning to the ship empty-handed a second time! Second chances were rare for Sledge, third chances were unheard of! He heard the doors behind him flying open and Riley came rushing out, his Dino Sabre in his hand.

"You're not going anywhere!" Riley warned him. "There's no way you get to run out after what you did to us."

"What I did...?"

Riley didn't say another word, instead rushing straight towards Shearfear, attacking him in a blind rage. Shearfear was barely able to block the storm of blades coming his way as Riley hammered into him. He was being driven back, unable to face the relentless pressure. He ended up tumbling outside as Riley's blade glowed brightly and unleashed a wave of energy straight into him. Shearfear was only just getting up as Riley leapt into the street, rolling back to his feet.

"You're pretty handy with a blade!" Shearfear said as he stood before him. Several blades started to sprout from his body, and hovered ominously in the air behind him. "Let's see how you deal with THIS!"

Riley gripped his sword tightly, seeing the blades darting towards him. His instincts took over, and he swung his sword, intercepting each of the blades as they came for him. He could see why Shearfear didn't use these blades like he did his main weapons, as they shattered under the power of his Dino Sabre.

"Its clear cut," Riley taunted him as he smashed blade after blade as they came for him. "You're no match for my Dino Sabre! I'll need to remember to ask Noah what his record was with that Skatana guy."

"You think you've got me just because you broke a few of my blades?" He asked. More blades shot out of his body, this time burying themselves in the ground. "Try THIS on for size!"

Riley was astounded as blades rose up on all side out of the ground, arching over him in the air and streaming down towards him. He knew he couldn't get them all. He covered up, preparing for the onslaught to begin. However, he felt someone come to his side.

"Para Chopper Blast!" Chase called out, beginning to blast down the blades. Ivan joined them quickly, taking down more with his Ptera Bolts. As Riley finally uncovered, he looked, seeing Chase and Ivan standing in his defence.

"Thanks guys." He said in a relieved tone.

"Think nothing of it Sir Riley!" Ivan assured him. "It's just what friends do!"

"Speaking of friends, you're looking decidedly short of friends right about now." Tyler said as the other Rangers arrived. Shearfear started to look around in panic. He held up his hands defensively.

"Now...come on, can't you just..."

"You turned us against each other!" Tyler interrupted him. "You're going to pay for that!"

"I did it once and...I can DO IT AGAIN!" He screamed, swinging his blade wildly. However, it just whistled uselessly through the air. He just stared at it in confusion, trying one more time, but he didn't feel any resistance at all.

"I don't understand..."

"What do you say Phillipe?" Shelby asked the Graphite Ranger. "Do you want to finish what you started?"

"Gladly." Phillipe responded. "Royal Ranger PUNCH!"

Shearfear screamed as the wrecking ball flew his way. As he fell to the ground, exploding devastatingly, the Rangers all turned to walk away. None of them noticed energy glowing and escaping his body, flying back to all his victims, including them.

"Nice job Phillipe." Tyler complimented him.

"Yeah, you did well mate." Chase agreed. Phillipe just smiled.

"Anything I can do to help my friends." Phillipe responded. Just then, they heard a loud noise and turned to see the Magnabeam hitting the ground where Shearfear had fallen.

"Looks like we've got bigger problems." Tyler told him. "It looks like you get to be part of your first full-fledged Zord battle."

Meanwhile, as she was arriving back at her car, Kendall heard her cell phone ringing. She answered it, seeing that it was Matt on the other end.

"Kendall, they did it!" Matt told her. "I saw it on the news, they did it! I don't know what you did..."

"Who said I did anything?" She asked him. Matt paused for a moment.

"Wait, you said you were working on something in your lab." He responded. "You said you got something, that's why you...?"

"Have you ever heard of the placebo effect?" She asked him. The end of the line went silent.

"Your Dino Charger...it didn't...?"

"It's an impressive light show that would look great at a disco." She told him. "Those guys might have learned a lot from me, but do you want to know what I've learned from them?"

She took her place in the driver's seat and adjusted her rear-view mirror.

"There's no secret to friendship."

 **A/N:** I couldn't resist throwing in a couple of jabs at Batman Vs Superman. I know some people like it, and don't want to take anything away from anyone that did enjoy it, but I have to say, with the exception of Affleck in a surprisingly good turn as Batman, (yes, I'm into Batfleck!) I really wasn't fond of it on a creative level. Maybe Justice League will be better.

However, the comment about Batman and Robin marked with a *...that's actually true! Not only did director Joel Schumacher publically apologise to comic fans for making the film, but star George Clooney has been quoted as saying if anyone tells him they saw it in the cinema he would personally refund them out of his own pocket! I think it says a lot about the film when the director and star are so apologetic about the product! LOL!


	28. The Search

Up on Sledge's ship, Poisandra ran through the ship, desperately searching for her loyal playmate. Following his destruction, Shearfear's spell had been broken, and all of a sudden, she couldn't remember why she was angry with Curio. She couldn't even think why they had exchanged such harsh words. They were enjoying teasing prisoners with the vain hope of their freedom, one of their favourite pastimes, when all of a sudden...

She couldn't bear to think of all the horrid things she had said to Curio. As she rounded a corner, she could already see him searching for her. All those things they had said, all the apologies she wanted to make, they all took back seat as they ran towards each other and embraced warmly.

"Oh Curio!" She greeted him gleefully. "I promise I'll never be mean again!"

"Except to prisoners!" He clarified. She just smiled brightly.

"Of course!" She agreed, taking his hand as they skipped away. "Let's go find those keys!"

As they skipped away, Sledge just shook his head in disbelief. He had only arrived in time to see that the Rangers had destroyed Shearfear, ending his first life. He had activated the Magna Beam, but after seeing how badly the monster had fouled up when it was so close. The Rangers were at each others' throats, they were practically doing Sledge's work for him...and yet somehow Shearfear had managed to mess it all up!

He turned on the comms link, bringing up Fury, all the way from New Zealand.

"This better be good Fury!" He warned him. "I am not in the mood to have my time wasted any more today."

"Believe me; this will make you very happy!" Fury told him. "There was a bank robbery over here this week..."

"BANK ROBBERY?" Sledge yelled. "What makes you think I care about...?"

"Banks have security cameras." Fury interrupted him. "Which has confirmed the suspicion we've had all along."

He pulled up some footage that Wrench had managed to hack into, showing the robbery taking place. So far, Fury had found a number of rumours, and even a blurry, distant photograph or two, but this...this was a clear picture, full colour, and in high quality. Sledge pulled in closer as he saw the Purple Ranger rush in to confront the robber.

"The...the Purple Ranger! He IS real!" Sledge stated. "So someone has bonded to the Purple Energem! Still, at least he's there alone..."

"It gets better!" Fury told him. "Watch!"

Sledge watched on further, seeing the criminal turn the shotgun on the Purple Ranger. The Ranger then did something he had never seen any of the Rangers do...ever. He held his hand up in submission. He was waving frantically; backing away...he was actually cowering?

"He...he's cowering to a mere human? He's backing down to a human with a pathetic pea-shooter of a weapon?" He asked. He watched as the shotgun went off and the Purple Ranger hit the ground. He did get up, and managed to snatch the gun from him, but by then Sledge had seen what Fury had.

"He's out here, miles away from the rest of the Rangers." He told his partner. "He has no idea what he has in his possession, or the true power he wields!"

"So getting his Energem should be no problem." Sledge said, his tone indicating a lift in his mood. "Perhaps today has not been a complete loss after all."

Back in the Embassy, the Rangers arrived to find Kendall, Margaret, Mrs Griffin, Matt and Chloe waiting for them. The clean-up from the attack had gone well, and they'd even had time to set up a little spread for the Rangers as they returned.

"I suppose it's a little late to bother saying 'Surprise.'." Matt said as he released Rubik, allowing him to run to Riley. The Green Ranger was almost as delighted as his faithful dog to be reunited, clapping him as he greeted the master he had been pining after for several months.

"It's alright; it's the thought that counts." Riley said as he looked around. "This is all great! I can't believe you all went to all this trouble!"

"We've been planning this for months!" Shelby told him. "You've been doing so great out here; we just wanted to do this for you."

"Yeah, I'm just sorry I spoiled the surprise." Chase told him.

"Chase, we were fighting..."

"Yeah, we were fighting but that's no excuse. It was a lousy thing to do." Chase told him. "Will you forgive me?"

"When you've all gone to all this trouble? How could I stay mad at you?" He asked. "This is amazing!"

"Well the only thing that's left is..." Tyler said, as he turned on the stereo, turning up the volume. He looked to Shelby. "May I have this dance?"

"Of course you can!" She responded. With that, everyone started to dance, enjoying the chance for some much-needed time to relax.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the world, a man was sitting in his jeep, listening to the police scanner he had managed to piece together out of some parts he got from a second-hand shop. From the sounds of the transmissions, it sounded like the local police force were having a quiet night. So far, he'd heard a call for someone who had dialled the emergency number because they had a possum in their house, a shoplifter on the opposite side of town, and finally, and most excitingly, an officer who had been sent to the local diner finding out what everyone's sandwich order was.

The Violet Avenger had started to become restless as of late. Since he had discovered the strange, glowing purple stone, he knew that he had power, more strength than he had ever known. He had already been using his new power to help people, stopping petty thefts and saving lost pets and children and suchlike, but only a short time ago, that had all changed.

Without thinking about it, he had run into a bank when he saw a man pulling on a balaclava. It was only when he got inside that he realised he was armed! The whole incident had been a complete misstep in judgement. Thinking back, he couldn't believe it never occurred to him the robber was armed. Banks had security guards, alarms, security cameras, emergency links to the police department. Going in to rob a bank unarmed was not a feasible option, yet he had been surprised when he saw the shotgun.

He tried to reason with the robber. His heart was racing when he saw the gun, and his life flashed before his eyes as he tried to convince him not to shoot, tried to convince him to give up without a fight. However, seeing only a man with a layer of Lycra between him and a shotgun, the robber decided to take his chances and opened fire.

That moment was one of the most painful of his life. He could never remember ever being hit so hard in his life, and yet when he was lying on the ground, staring up at lights, the only thing that occurred to him was that he had been shot. He had taken a shotgun straight to the chest at point-blank range, and he was still alive! He pulled himself to his feet, took down the robber, and ran out. He had never felt so alive! Yet, in that moment, something else changed. He knew he could no longer make his way just using this strange power to save cats from trees and returning stolen purses to their owners. This power was obviously meant for greater things.

Suddenly, his police scanner burst into life.

"Calling all broadcasting, there's been a 1310 on the corner of Eastman and Laird." The radio operator declared. The Violet Avenger pulled out his little notebook, and flicked through it. He'd been listening to the radio for a while now, and he was taking notes, figuring out what all their codes meant. He flicked through, and found it. 1310...robbery! Whatever this power was, it was obviously meant for a lot more than catching bike thieves and breaking up pub brawls. This was it! Another chance to use his power for some real good!

"An armoured car has been hijacked from the jewellery store on Eastman heading east on the highway. Red Ford, registration number..."

The Violet Avenger didn't bother to listen to the rest, turning off the radio and starting up his jeep, heading for the truck. He pulled out the purple gem and held it, transforming once more into the form that had been the hero everyone had been talking about. These crooks were about to learn that crime did not pay! Not in his city!

Back at the party, the Rangers were having a great time. Riley was overjoyed to see his mom and his brother again. Sitting with Riley, scratching him behind his ears, he was talking non-stop, catching them up on everything he was getting up to in the city. Well, as much as he could anyway.

Kendall was happy to see Matt, Riley and their mother catching up. She genuinely liked Riley, and took her position as his mentor and tutor very seriously. She saw a lot in him and his future. She also loved having Matt back in the city. It was unfortunate there were so many demands on both their time, they didn't get to spend anything like the time together they really wanted to. Mrs Griffin seemed to like her, and was happy enough with her place in her sons' lives. Kendall could admit to being closed off for a long time, and making a point of not caring if people accepted or liked her for the most part, but with the Griffins...it actually felt good that they accepted her.

She could see in the corner of the room, Phillipe heading to his office, and could only think about the way she had treated him. She knew she had a right to be angry about how he kept the Graphite Energem from them, but she had allowed that to cloud her to his efforts as a Ranger. The Energems didn't choose people for no reason. She had to admit that Phillipe had surprised her in a lot of ways, especially since he had come onto the team. She set down her cup of fruit punch and headed to Phillipe's office, but she stopped as she heard voices. She held the door open a small way, and could see that he was indeed talking to someone. Chloe was in his office, sitting on his desk.

"So, I just wanted to talk to you a little before you had to head home." Phillipe told her. The young girl just looked to him.

"I know what this is about." She told him, gulping as she said it. She looked to Phillipe. "This is the 'just friends' speech isn't it? Mrs Griffin told you...?"

"She may have had a little word with me." He replied. He looked to her. "You are a very brave, wonderful girl..."

"But you don't want a girl." She surmised. Phillipe just smiled as he looked to her.

"I know it might not feel like it right now, but it really does get better." He told her. "For what it's worth, I really am flattered."

"I just...I don't even know why I thought you'd be interested." She murmured. "I mean, I'm 8! You're..."

"I think you perhaps overestimate how great it would be anyway. My life isn't anywhere near as glamorous as people think." He answered with a little chuckle. "I'm spending tomorrow playing golf with the mayor. I can't even stand the game! And do you have any idea how much time I spend cooped up in here reading letters and e-mails? I think you'd much rather be out there on half-pipes and suchlike."

He took her hand gently in his, and looked straight at her.

"You should just have the best time you can now. There's all the time in the world to worry about things like this." He told her. "Who knows? Maybe in time you'll find someone who's in a position to give the time a relationship deserves, and who'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated. In the meantime, you do have another friend."

He handed her a business card. She just looked to him.

"That's my personal e-mail address." He told her. "Now, there will be time-zones to consider, and I may not be able to answer right away given my schedule right now, but I promise. If you write, I WILL answer."

"Thanks." She responded. Phillipe hugged her, helping her off the desk. He looked to her.

"You're a fine girl Chloe, and one day I'm sure you'll meet someone who'll make you very happy." He assured her. She wrinkled her nose.

"I'm not so sure. All the boys in my class are kind of icky." She told him. Phillipe just laughed.

"Well, speaking as someone who USED to be a boy, I can assure you we do eventually grow out of it." He told her. "In the meantime, try to enjoy your flight home tomorrow."

"Yeah, fifteen hours cramped in coach." She muttered. "That sounds like a blast."

"Coach?" He asked. "Oh no, that'll never do now. Not for official visitors to my embassy."

"I'm sorry?" She replied.

"Well, you WERE official guests of my embassy." He reminded her. "As such, I've arranged for you all to travel in a style befitting your position. My motorcade will pick your class up from the motel tomorrow, and I've already arranged for my private jet to take you home."

"A PRIVATE JET?" She shrieked in delight. He just nodded.

"And I've ensured that there'll be plenty of things to keep you all entertained on your way home." He assured her. "Just remember that if I ever need to visit New Zealand, I will be looking for a tour guide."

"It's a deal!" She agreed. With that, he guided her back towards the main party. As she left, he noticed Kendall in the doorway. She approached him, smiling.

"Well, it's always good to know you have a fan." She began. He just sat on his desk.

"It's not about the fans; it's about doing what's right for the world." He assured her. "But...yes it's good to know that I have a fan."

"You have more than one." Kendall told him. "I'm sorry about the way I've been."

"I kind of asked for..."

"No, just hear me out." She interrupted him. "I admit, I'm still not happy about how you came onto the team, but I let that cloud my judgement. I've not given you a fair chance."

"I can't say I blame you." He responded. "It's not like I did all this for entirely altruistic reasons. I can understand you not trusting my motivation."

"I didn't." Kendall replied. "But I can see I've really misjudged you. Being someone who's been misjudged more than a few times, I really should have been better at giving you a chance. But, I'm not above letting personal things get in the way either."

He just looked to her.

"My aunt, Kendrix Morgan, was the Pink Galaxy Ranger." She told him. "I've always kind of hoped that I'd get to live up to that legacy. When you got that Energem, I have to admit that I was disappointed it wasn't me."

"For what its worth I don't think grey is really your colour." He chuckled. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

He extended a hand, which Kendall took, shaking it.

"You're a great addition to the team." She told him. "Zandar will be lucky to have you."

"Not too soon I hope." He responded. "I may not have the best relationship with my father, but I'm not too desperate to see him go."

"Anyway, I believe the Birthday boy is about ready to cut his cake." She replied, gesturing to the door. "Your chef looks to have outdone himself."

"Believe me; you have not had Blackforest Gateau until you have had his." He responded as they headed back into the main party.

Meanwhile, back in New Zealand, the Violet Avenger had abandoned his jeep and gotten onto the highway on foot. He knew which way the armoured truck was heading, and now it was on the highway, that made predicting where it would end up a lot simpler. He stood, preparing for when the truck arrived.

He stood in the middle of the road, hearing the sirens in the distance. The patrol cars were considerably faster than the armoured car, but were also a lot lighter. They couldn't ram it off the road, and so he knew they'd be hoping to keep it running until the driver either gave up or ran out of fuel by blocking the exits. It would limit the potential casualties. He saw the truck coming his way and stood, holding his hand up, beckoning it to stop.

He knew this was an entirely different prospect than the shotgun. The truck had to weigh upwards of ten tons, and was travelling at speed. However, by now the story of the Violet Avenger's victory over the bank robber was all over the news. He hoped the crook would have heard of this power and give up.

The truck started to slow up, and came to a stop before him. The Violet Avenger breathed a sigh of relief and headed around the side, opening the door. He was astounded by what he saw. It was a bizarre creature, green and white, with no face, just a head that looked a lot like a mass of seaweed.

"What in the...?" The creature kicked him away from the truck, onto the highway, before leaping out of the truck. Several more like it came piling out of the back, surrounding the startled hero.

"I don't know what you are, but you don't know what you're getting into!" He warned them, trying to sound as confident as possible. "I'm more powerful than you can imagine!"

"That's funny." Fury growled as he and Wrench turned up, walking slowly towards him. "I was about to say the same thing!"

"What the devil are you?" He asked. "I don't care what silly costumes you wear, I'm not letting you get away with these jewels!"

"You think we care about shiny stones?" Wrench asked, throwing his axe for him. The Violet Avenger dodged aside, only to realise it wasn't aimed at him anyway. The axe flew through the air, neatly cleaving the whole truck in half with ease. He gulped seeing this. This was way more than he bargained for!

"Now, you have something we want." Fury told him. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way! Personally, I'm hoping for the latter!"

"I propose...OPTION C!" He yelled, before turning tail and running as fast as he could. Fury fired a blast at him that went wide, before they headed off in pursuit. The Violet Avenger could only run for his life, all the time thinking how he missed the guy with the shotgun!


	29. Homeward Bound

The following day, Allison, Chase and Phillipe arrived at the motel, finding Chloe's class all getting their stuff together ready to go home. While they all loved getting this trip out to the United States, they were still kids, and most of them were more than a little homesick by now. There was definite excitement at the prospect of going home, and that was only increased once word got to them they would be travelling in style!

The motorcade took up virtually the whole parking lot as the Prince's security started loading the kids' luggage. The teacher approached Phillipe with a huge smile on his face.

"Thank you so much for this Your Highness." He said as he looked to the kids, who marvelled at the fancy cars and all the mod cons that they would enjoy on their way to the air port, where Phillipe's private jet was waiting! "There really was no need..."

"Please, it's my pleasure." Phillipe told him as he shook the teacher's hand. "Back home it is customary that we see to it any visiting dignitaries are not only shown hospitality when they visit, but also that they are seen home safely."

"Well, I'm not sure we have the same definition of 'dignitaries' Your Highness." He chuckled as he watched two boys fighting over who got to get into their limo first...completely oblivious to the fact that the rest of their group was getting in while they were too busy arguing and getting the best seats. "However, it is definitely appreciated. I wasn't looking forward to spending the next fourteen hours in coach."

"Having never travelled in coach, I would have to take your word for how unpleasant it is." Phillipe replied honestly. "Take care on your journey. Perhaps one day you can return my hospitality."

"I'd very much like that." He replied, before turning to the kids. "Alright, settle down you little monsters! Brad, Fraser, all the cars are exactly the same, just pick one and get in!"

Allison hugged Chase as she prepared to make her way home. She looked to the little girl and smiled.

"Now, remember, you have my E-mail." Allison told her. "Just remember those pictures you promised me."

"Pictures?" Chase asked. "What pictures?"

"Oh...never mind." Allison replied, before looking to Chloe and winking. The younger girl just giggled, before closing in to hug her brother. Chase was happy to return the hug.

"Take care of mum for me." He told her. "I'm really sorry I didn't get to spend more time with you."

"Well, I guess being a superhero is kind of time consuming." She answered. Chase just looked to her, beginning to get a little worried.

"S...s...superhero?" He stammered. "What do you...?"

"You and your friends fought those things in the park!" She reminded him. "You ran after that thing that attacked at the party! What else would you call yourselves?"

"She has a point right?" Allison asked him, giving Chase a cautionary glare. Chloe didn't really know their secret, but her choice of words was surprising enough that it obviously worried Chase. He just nodded.

"Yeah...I guess so." He agreed.

"It beats being in that lame-ass boy band." Chloe teased him. "Wait...mom wanted me to give you something!"

She reached into her backpack, fishing out a little care package. Chase sometimes received little packages, just silly things like candy and newspapers from back home to remind him that he had a home to go back to. This was just such a package, a couple of newspapers, along with some treats, and an envelope on top, addressed to him.

"It's larger than usual." He commented.

"Open the envelope!" Chloe beckoned him.

"Maybe a little later." He responded. "I'll read..."

"No seriously, open it!" Chloe reiterated, shoving the package a little closer. Chase realised it had to be more than just a letter with the usual catch-up from his mom. He opened the envelope, and sure enough there was a letter, but something else too. He pulled it out, seeing an airline ticket.

"It's open-ended, so you can come home whenever you have some time!" She said with a bright, beaming smile, bouncing excitedly. Chase hugged her again.

"This may just be the greatest gift I've ever gotten!" He replied, releasing her. "I'll definitely use this. Enjoy your trip."

"Chloe, it's time to go!" One of her friends called over. Chloe just smiled.

"I'll be right there!" She called as she ran over. Chase stood, waving as she got into the car and the motorcade slowly pulled away.

"She's a great kid." Chase stated, looking to Phillipe. "Thanks, for everything."

"Believe me, it was a pleasure." He told him as they went to Phillipe's car. "Now, is there anywhere I can drop you off?"

"Well, we're not due at the cafe until the lunch rush." Allison told him. "I thought maybe we could hit the skate park?"

"Yeah, I'm really not in the mood right now." Chase admitted. He had loved getting the chance to see Chloe again, but it had been a big reminder of how much he missed his home. Allison also missed her home in Australia, but since her whole family had emigrated, it wasn't exactly the same. She just nodded in understanding.

"Alright, how about instead we just go to the park for a while?" She suggested.

"I would love to join you, but sadly matters of state do not seem to care how lovely a day it is." Phillipe said apologetically. "The mayor wishes to discuss some matters over a game of golf."

"Well, that doesn't sound so bad." Chase replied. Phillipe just sighed.

"Sadly it's a game I never developed a taste for." He said honestly. "At least I'll be outside I suppose. Enjoy the rest of your day."

As he got into his car, and headed back to the Embassy to get ready, Allison just wrapped her arm around Chase and started to lead him back to the park.

In New Zealand, the Violet Avenger was hiding out back at his home. It had taken most of a full day and a night for him to finally shake his bizarre pursuers, but eventually he found himself in the forest, with no sign of his pursuers.

The mysterious crystal he had found gave him the strength he needed to get away. The strange, seaweed-like creatures that pursued him were a lot tougher than the muggers and pick-pockets he was used to, but he found them falling to his attacks just the same, albeit just needing a little more convincing to do so. He didn't have any idea what they were or where they had come from, all he knew was they were not friendly. There was a part of him that would have been fascinated by them if they weren't trying to kill him.

His life had always revolved around the bizarre and unexplained. Even before the internet was a big thing, he was always a huge fan of stories of the unexplained. Bigfoot, giant squid, Tanifa, UFO's...he had always loved the stories that seemed to show the world, the universe to be a much larger and more wondrous place than anyone believed. For a long time, many believed him to be simply a kook who would believe any wild story that anyone would tell, but then again...the entire world had been subjugated in an alien invasion only a couple of years earlier. Since they now had conclusive proof that aliens existed, was it so difficult to believe that there were creatures on their own planet that hadn't yet been discovered?

He always loved those legends, but he never suspected he'd end up being a part of one. When he had discovered the crystal, when it had lent him its strength and power, allowed him to become the hero of his city, he had never stopped to think of the nature of those abilities, or where they came from. He had just been so caught up in doing good; seeking to help people that he just accepted the power without even thinking about such matters. He knew that if he told anyone of the powers he possessed he'd never be left alone, and possibly even feared by the very people he wanted to protect. He never stopped to think that anyone else would be after those powers.

The monsters that attacked him were ferocious, and clearly paid no mind to the people they harmed in pursuit of their goal. The one he presumed to be the leader, the large, feline one, he had said something about 'having something that they wanted'. He could only come to the conclusion that he meant the crystal. It didn't take a genius to figure out that simply turning it over would be a bad idea. Staying in the city where the very people he aimed to protect were in the firing line was not an option. He could tell that the big cat and his robot friend would gladly level the city to get to him. However, he still had no idea the extent of his powers, and he didn't know if he would be a match for them. That left him with only one option. To run as fast as he could!

He had gone to where he felt safest. He'd lived out in the woods for years now. He was so fascinated with all the legends he had heard, he had moved out there to be a part of them years ago. He knew the local woods and mountains better than anyone. Here, he would have lots of advance warning if those creatures came looking for him.

He snapped around as the police scanner burst into life again, breaking the still air.

"Fire in the Elmwood housing estate, all units to attend." The radio crackled. The Violet Avenger hesitated. He had been attacked once already when attending such a call. What if it was another trap? Even if it wasn't, would the incident attract them in the hopes he would show up? Could he possibly risk it?

He heard the announcement again and couldn't help looking to the crystal in his hand. He didn't understand it, but he had been given these powers for a reason! People relied on him! Snatching up his crystal, he ran off into the night, transforming as he went.

Back in Amber Beach, Allison came over to where Chase was resting under a tree, carrying a couple of freshly-made lemonades. Chase was just settling back in the shade as she sat down with him.

"The guy at the cart's was talking and he said there's a big skating tour coming into town in a few weeks." She informed him. "I was thinking it might be fun to show up and laugh at all the sell-outs running around in branded merchandise."

Jake didn't respond, instead just sipping his lemonade. She could tell he was still thinking about his family. He had been quiet the whole day. Normally the thought of making fun of posers on the skating circuit who cared more about endorsement deals than with skating would have started him on a rant that would last at least half an hour, but so far nothing shook him out of his mood.

"You know, Ms Morgan's doing the rotas today, maybe we could talk to her about arranging some time off. Maybe get a little trip away somewhere?" She suggested. Chase just shrugged.

"Whatever." He responded. Allison just took one of the newspapers from Chase's care package and playfully whacked him in the face.

"Hey!" He protested as he sat up.

"That's not really the response a girl is looking for when she asks a guy to take her on a trip away." Allison answered with a chuckle. "You know what that usually means right?"

"Allison, I'm sorry, I really would love to spend a weekend away or something." He told her. "But I'm not sure that right now I'd be the best..."

"Uh...Chase, why don't we take a rain check on that trip?" She asked him. Chase just looked a little surprised.

"Um...OK, I was just about to suggest that." He replied. "Maybe in a little while..."

"Chase, I think something more important just came up." She told him, showing him the newspaper. Chase just looked to it, still completely confused.

"Um...OK, it's a newspaper from home." He answered. "A bit of a strange thing to show me when I'm feeling homesick, but I suppose..."

"Chase, look at the PICTURE!" She beckoned him, folding it over and pointing to the cover picture. "Do you see anything that looks familiar?"

Chase decided to look at the picture once more. He suddenly snapped to his feet as he realised what Allison was getting at.

"We need to get to the cafe right now!" Chase announced. "Kendall needs to see this, right now!"

With that, they both got up and started to run towards the museum.

Meanwhile, at the museum, Shelby and Tyler were working to prepare for the lunch rush. The usual morning-coffee crowd had been and gone, and it was now time for prep work, possibly the most boring part of the shift. Of course that was until Tyler and Shelby found a few ways to make it a little more interesting.

"Hah!" I saw that!" Shelby called out.

"I was just...mopping my brow..."

"Your brow must have slipped about four inches, you were wiping tears!" She declared, slamming down her knife and throwing up her hands in victory. "I win!"

"I guess that's what I get for taking on a vegetarian at an onion-chopping contest." He replied, pulling her into himself and holding her tightly. "Alright, you won, fair and square."

"So that means...?"

"I'll do the cash-up." Tyler groaned, pulling out the supervisor card for the credit card machine. "You better hope the credit cards balance this time."

"I'm just hoping Ms Morgan got me those extra shifts." Shelby responded. "I swear at this rate, I don't know if I'll EVER have enough to go to college."

"I'm sure you'll find a way." Tyler said reassuringly as he started to print out the reports from the register. "Ms Morgan gave you those courses, maybe if you do well in those you can look for a scholarship."

"Yeah...unfortunately I've let a few of them slide a little lately." Shelby admitted sadly. She hadn't meant to slack off, but the one thing all the Rangers understood was that their duties were rarely considerate of their commitments. They'd all had to make sacrifices since they hadn't yet figured out how to create a 48 hour day. "I know Ms Morgan's put herself out to get me on those courses. I really don't want to ask her for too many favours when I've not been able to keep up."

"I'm sure she'll understand." Tyler answered. "I mean, she knows it's not like you're slacking off to go clubbing or anything."

"I know, but...she had to call in favours from colleagues. I really don't want anyone thinking badly of her because I'm not keeping up." She reiterated. "In the meantime, I guess I just have to try and earn a little extra money to keep on top of things."

"Well, there's Ms Morgan now." Tyler told her, pointing her out as she came into the restaurant. "You can always ask now."

"Yeah, it was great seeing you again." Kendall said with a bright smile on her face. This was a good sign for Shelby; she was clearly talking to Matt, which meant she was in a good mood. "I keep telling you, I'll get out to Millport eventually...look, I promised I would, I just need some time."

"Ms Morgan..." Kendall held up a finger as she listened in on the other end. She just smiled and laughed a little.

"Yes, I feel the same way...what? It IS the same as saying...It's NOT the same, we were alone then..." She started to say, before looking around. "I'm in front of the guys; I'm not really comfortable..."

Tyler and Shelby just stared at her. She just turned away.

"Alright." She responded to Matt, beginning to look a little less than comfortable. "I love you too."

As she hung up, she turned back to see the huge grins on Shelby and Tyler's faces. She rolled her eyes.

"Right, I guess you wanted to talk about the schedule." She began, quickly getting their attention away from her phone call. "Alright, Tyler I managed to get you the weekend, but you'll need to work the next three."

"No problem Ms Morgan." He answered.

"Riley's got some coursework due, so I was able to get you those extra shifts you wanted Shelby." Ms Morgan told her. Shelby looked to the rota, and her heart sank.

"Uh...Ms Morgan? I know I asked for more shifts, but I was thinking more spread out across the month?" Shelby stated. Kendall just looked to her.

"You wanted more shifts..."

"But not all in the same week!" Shelby grumbled, almost instantaneously forgetting her previous assertion she wouldn't be asking for any more favours. "I'm working seven days in a row! I need a break!"

"And you'll get a break." Kendall assured her. "On day eight."

Shelby was about to protest, until Tyler gestured to her to remind her of her own promise. Kendall was doing her a favour, she couldn't exactly complain about how she was doing it. She had envisioned a few extra hours onto a shift here or there, maybe a sixth day, but although seven days in a row seemed long, she figured that Kendall had enough to worry about with the rota without having to satisfy one employee's whims.

"Thanks." She responded, taking a rota. "I guess I can go see that movie NEXT week."

Just then, Chase and Allison burst in. Kendall looked up, a little startled.

"Chase! Allison!" She blurted out, checking her watch. "Not that I want to discourage this new habit, but...you're not on shift for..."

"Guys! Someone's taken a photo; you just HAVE to see this!" Chase rushed out, interrupting her. He slammed down the newspaper, showing them the front page. "I think I know why we haven't seen Fury in a while."

Kendall pulled the photograph a little closer, inspecting it.

"UFO spotted." She read the headline aloud, before checking the photograph. Normally, these kinds of photographs were of questionable quality and worth. Fuzzy, out of focus, long range...a lot of them were obvious fakes that people tried to cover up by making them low quality to make it look like they were taken in a hurry. This one however seemed to be quite clear. In the corner, the UFO was circled, below it; the image was blown up to make it clearer.

"Does it look familiar?" Allison asked with a smile. "That's..."

"One of Sledge's drop pods!" Tyler concluded, taking the paper. "So that's why Fury's not been around. He's been sent somewhere else!"

"Where though?" Shelby asked. Chase just smiled.

"That's the best part!" He replied, taking the paper and unfolding it completely. They could now see the title.

"New Zealand?" Kendall asked. "He's in New Zealand?"

"Sledge wouldn't send him out there for no reason." Tyler pondered as he tried to think of what there could be in New Zealand that would take Fury so far from the action. "He must be looking for something..."

"While Sledge keeps us busy here!" Shelby added. "If there's an Energem out there, he could have found it and we'd have been none the wiser!"

"I don't think so." Chase replied. "He was pretty quick to send the Ptera Zord after us. If he'd found an Energem, he'd be trying to give us a five star arse kicking with it right now."

"Whatever the case, we need to find out what Fury is after and find it before he does." Tyler stated with authority. "Chase, you know New Zealand better than us, so you're coming with us."

"But..."

"But we can't leave the city undefended. Ms Morgan, call Phillipe, tell him what's going on."

"But..."

"Ivan, you have the only Zord that can fly, that means we need to take it with us so we're not relying on Fury's good nature if we run into trouble." Tyler continued. "Tell Phillipe he has full access to the rest of the Zords if he needs them."

"Looks like you'll need to re-do that rota Ms Morgan." Shelby said with a smile. "We're heading down under!"

As they left the museum, Kendall just groaned and got on the phone, tearing up the rota as she did so.

Fin.

 **A/N:** Well, that's it for this story, but don't worry, I'll be covering what happens when the team visit New Zealand beginning very soon! Hope you enjoyed the story!


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